APRIL UPDATES

BGC Joliet Awarded $25,000 from the Rotary Club of Joliet

The Boys & Girls Club of Joliet was honored and humbled to be chosen as the 2021 Rotary Club of Joliet grant recipient in the amount of $25,000 to support "Keep the Kids Swimming: Preserving a Historical Attraction in Joliet." This amazing investment will allow us to complete critical infrastructure work in our historic swimming pool as we begin prepare for our Summer Session launch!

Boys & Girls Club of Joliet Executive Director, Kahlil Diab, accepted the check along with Building Committee Chair, Mark Inserra and Club Ambassador, George Buck.

Special thank you to Rotary Club of Joliet, IL President, Michelle Balog and Past President, Jen Howard, for visiting the Club to present the check and to the Joliet Rotarians, for choosing to invest in the Boys & Girls Club of Joliet!

This project will ensure that the swimming pool continues to run strong as the only youth dedicated swimming pool on the East side of Joliet for many years to come!

Thank you for helping us to create #GreatFutures for the youth that need us the most in our community!

BGC Joliet Distributes Easter Kits to Youth

Happy Easter, from the Boys & Girls Club of Joliet! We had a great time distributing custom Easter activity kits to keep our members busy and their minds engaged during the holiday weekend!

One of these Easter kits contained a very exclusive golden egg. The finder of the golden egg received an awesome prize! A tremendous shout out to Boys & Girls Club of Joliet Intern, Matt H., for conceptualizing and constructing these amazing Easter kits on his own! Great job!

Eagle Scout Project Benefits BGC Joliet

The Boys & Girls Club of Joliet was proud to host a very special Eagle Scout Project in 2020 and we are happy to report that it has been officially completed!

Shortly before the pandemic, Mr. Lee Gunter, 2020 Boys & Girls Club of Joliet's Commitment to Youth Award Recipient, reached out to the Club to inquire if we had any specific needs to be the official beneficiary of his son Kyle's Eagle Scout Project. Mr. Gunter also serves as the Volunteer Chair of our Boys & Girls Club of Joliet chartered Scout Troop & Pack (226).

From start to finish , Kyle did an amazing job and was able to provide the Club with these amazing locker cubbies for our Club kids to keep track of their personal belongings when they visit the Club! The locker cubbies are currently being used for our in-person E-Learning Hub, which started at the beginning of April!

Thank you Kyle and Mr. Gunter, you truly help us in our mission to create #GreatFutures for the youth in our community that need us the most!

BGC Joliet Partners with Old Navy to Celebrate Earth Day

We had an outstanding Earth Day in April, thanks to our amazing friends at

Old Navy, led by the always great , Tori Sue Quintana (along with her son, Leo), GM of Old Navy Joliet!

Old Navy managers and associates at the Joliet location conceptualized, put together, and distributed some very thoughtful and fun Earth Day Kits, which included guided activities, fun items, soil/seed to help beautify the Earth, and of course, a balloon!

Special thank you to the following for their hard work, participation and involvement:

-Assistant general manager, Maria Troc

-Assistant manager customer operations, Katie Shunick

-Assistant manager merchandise, Allison Patino

-Product and operation specialist, Buffie Lange

-Old Navy brand associates

We truly appreciate our friends at Old Navy for their constant support of the Boys & Girls Club of Joliet!

Michaels DC Donates Sketch Pads & Art Supplies to BGC Joliet

The Boys & Girls Club of Joliet would like to send out a tremendous thank you to our great friends at the Michaels Stores Distribution Center in New Lenox, IL for dropping off a massive donation of sketch pads and art supplies to support our upcoming 2021 Summer Session!

Beyond the donation itself, we truly appreciate the delivery of these supplies by members of the leadership team, Connie and Richard! Over the past few years, Michaels Stores DC New Lenox has provided the Boys & Girls Club of Joliet with additional donations of art supplies and more, thanks to this amazing partnership!

Thank you, Michaels Stores DC New Lenox, you help us to support the kids in our community that need us the most!

Murphy USA Campaign Benefits BGC Joliet

Murphy USA is one of BGCA’s newest national partners committed to supporting our LOCAL Boys & Girls Club of Joliet!

Murphy USA is committed to supporting the Club's mission directly through their annual campaigns both online and in-store! Join Murphy USA

and do #WhateveritTakes for Joliet community youth! Through July 6th donate at the register to support the Boys & Girls Club of Joliet's homework help program when visiting your neighborhood #MurphyUSA.

The Boys & Girls Club of Joliet is matched with the following Murphy USA stores for this campaign:

-Joliet, IL

-Shorewood, IL

-Naperville, IL

-Romeoville, IL

-Lockport, IL

-New Lenox, IL

-Oswego, IL

-Plano, IL

-Kankakee, IL

Thank you, Murphy USA, you help us to create #GreatFutures for the youth in our community that need us the most!

SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT

Our "Sponsor Spotlight" for the month of April is on the CITY OF JOLIET!

The City of Joliet has been a VALUED partner and advocate for the Boys & Girls Club of Joliet for nearly 70 years.

Over the years The City of Joliet has provided a great deal of support and assistance in many areas to BGC Joliet, most recently including:

-Support from Mayor O'Dekirk and City Council to put on a sanctioned amateur boxing fundraiser, to raise critical funding for BGC Joliet

-Large scale sponsorship of BGC Joliet Members for Christmas in 2020 (made possible by the amazing staff at City Hall)

-Support from JPD and JFD to keep our programming consistently SAFE

Thank you, City of Joliet, you help us to create Great Futures for youth that need us the most in our community!

UPCOMING EVENTS

What:   In-Person E-learning Session

When:  April 6, 2021-May 28, 2021

Where: Boys & Girls Club of Joliet

What:   In-Person 2021 Summer Session

When:  Initial Registration Begins on May 15

*Due to building capacity requirements and state mandated mitigations, BGC Joliet will be unable to serve the same amount of youth in-person as we have in previous years. Registration for the 2021 Summer Session will be on a first come, first serve basis, with a waiting list being utilized for those that are not immediately approved.

Where: www.bgcjoliet.com