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PrintBoys & Girls Club's Auction
Annual Event Provides for After-school Tutoring, Character Development and More
June, 2006 - Issue #20
"Pour me something tall and strong. Make it a Hurricane, before I go insane. It's only half past twelve. But I don't care, it's five o'clock somewhere," Jimmy Buffett
Put on your flip-flops but don't step on that pop-top. The Santa Clarita Valley's most anticipated night is closing in and everyone who is anyone will be a Parrothead for this year's 35th Annual Benefit Auction for the Boys & Girls Club of the SCV.
On June 10 at the Mann Biomedical Park, the Jimmy Buffett-style "It's Five-O'clock Somewhere" theme will have Co-Chairs Don and Cheri Fleming and you breaking out that Hawaiian shirt and bidding on a 60-page catalogue of items that is straight out of paradise.
Executive Director of the Boys & Girls Club Judy Belue says auctions items include a car donated by the Power Auto Group of Valencia, a Johnny Cash signed guitar, Faith Hill and Tim McGraw Soul2Soul concert tickets (floor seats) plus hotel and dinner, a Derek Jeter signed baseball bat, a Sonoma Race package as VIP guests of IndyCar driver Bryan Herta, diamond jewelry and trips to London, Hawaii, the Caribbean and more.
But if the sand dance floor, music from Buffet-esq band "Stars on the Water" and high-energy bidding don't convince you to attend, consider this: the kids that make up the Boys & Girls Club of the Santa Clarita Valley are counting on you.
Chief Professional Officer Jim Ventress says the community needs to come out for this event, "Government support ranges from 10 percent to 15 percent. Our auction...you're talking about 30 to 35 percent of our budget. We really need the community to help us do what we do."
And what, exactly, does the Boys & Girls Club do? More than you think. Ventress wants you to consider Santa Clarita families like this single SCV mom: "We have a mom with four kids. The eldest is in college. One is in middle school. Two are in high school. She's a hard working lady. How do we help her?" he says. "We've developed a learning center and computer center and help with their homework." And the benefits aren't just for the kids. "It just relaxes their mom, that after school for those three or four hours... her kids are in an environment where there is an adult staff. They can get homework done. They can get help, tutoring."
Ventress says the Boys & Girls Club also has members where both parents work. "They work out of this valley. But the two boys, 9 and 11, they are coming to the club every day. We pick them up every day. That is such a relief to those parents."
Along with the homework help, computer access, tutoring and close collaboration with Santa Clarita schools, the club offers an arts program, character and leadership development, sports, recreation, fitness, and health and life skills. Belue says, "It is a program that doesn't just keep kids busy. That is a misconception. It is so much more than that."
Organizers are reminding the community that all of those programs take dollars. "But I always look at it as prevention," says Ventress. "Now it really takes a village. We are that village. We've become that extended family."
The auction proceeds make up one-third of the club's budget for the year. "It couldn't be more important to us," says Belue. "Categorically there isn't another organization in town whose special event is such big portion of their budget."
And what if there was no community support? No Boys & Girls Club for SCV's youth to attend? "I think some would be at home in a latchkey setting. Some would be hanging out," says Ventress. "Some would not have the resources - like computers at home - to get homework done. Some would not be able to afford some of the sports programs that exist out here. There is laundry list. I could just go on and on."
So go pull out your flip-flops, sunscreen and wallet. And join the community on June 10 in SCV's temporary Margaritaville to make a permanent difference. For tickets to the event or for more information, call 254-3063.
Put on your flip-flops but don't step on that pop-top. The Santa Clarita Valley's most anticipated night is closing in and everyone who is anyone will be a Parrothead for this year's 35th Annual Benefit Auction for the Boys & Girls Club of the SCV.
On June 10 at the Mann Biomedical Park, the Jimmy Buffett-style "It's Five-O'clock Somewhere" theme will have Co-Chairs Don and Cheri Fleming and you breaking out that Hawaiian shirt and bidding on a 60-page catalogue of items that is straight out of paradise.
Executive Director of the Boys & Girls Club Judy Belue says auctions items include a car donated by the Power Auto Group of Valencia, a Johnny Cash signed guitar, Faith Hill and Tim McGraw Soul2Soul concert tickets (floor seats) plus hotel and dinner, a Derek Jeter signed baseball bat, a Sonoma Race package as VIP guests of IndyCar driver Bryan Herta, diamond jewelry and trips to London, Hawaii, the Caribbean and more.
But if the sand dance floor, music from Buffet-esq band "Stars on the Water" and high-energy bidding don't convince you to attend, consider this: the kids that make up the Boys & Girls Club of the Santa Clarita Valley are counting on you.
| "I always look at [the Boys & Girls Club] as prevention. It really takes a village [to raise a child]. We are that village. We've become that extended family," Boys & Girls Club Chief Professional Officer Jim Ventress |
And what, exactly, does the Boys & Girls Club do? More than you think. Ventress wants you to consider Santa Clarita families like this single SCV mom: "We have a mom with four kids. The eldest is in college. One is in middle school. Two are in high school. She's a hard working lady. How do we help her?" he says. "We've developed a learning center and computer center and help with their homework." And the benefits aren't just for the kids. "It just relaxes their mom, that after school for those three or four hours... her kids are in an environment where there is an adult staff. They can get homework done. They can get help, tutoring."
Ventress says the Boys & Girls Club also has members where both parents work. "They work out of this valley. But the two boys, 9 and 11, they are coming to the club every day. We pick them up every day. That is such a relief to those parents."
Along with the homework help, computer access, tutoring and close collaboration with Santa Clarita schools, the club offers an arts program, character and leadership development, sports, recreation, fitness, and health and life skills. Belue says, "It is a program that doesn't just keep kids busy. That is a misconception. It is so much more than that."
Organizers are reminding the community that all of those programs take dollars. "But I always look at it as prevention," says Ventress. "Now it really takes a village. We are that village. We've become that extended family."
The auction proceeds make up one-third of the club's budget for the year. "It couldn't be more important to us," says Belue. "Categorically there isn't another organization in town whose special event is such big portion of their budget."
And what if there was no community support? No Boys & Girls Club for SCV's youth to attend? "I think some would be at home in a latchkey setting. Some would be hanging out," says Ventress. "Some would not have the resources - like computers at home - to get homework done. Some would not be able to afford some of the sports programs that exist out here. There is laundry list. I could just go on and on."
So go pull out your flip-flops, sunscreen and wallet. And join the community on June 10 in SCV's temporary Margaritaville to make a permanent difference. For tickets to the event or for more information, call 254-3063.
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