MAY UPDATES

BGC Joliet Receives Monetary Donation from Crane Composites

The Boys & Girls Club of Joliet is absolutely blessed to have received a donation in the amount of $2,000 from the Crane Fund for Widows and Children to support our 2021 Summer Session, thanks to our friends and partners at Crane Composites!

Special thank you to former Club member and staff member, Breion Tucker, for his constant advocacy on behalf of the Boys & Girls Club of Joliet, as he played a critical role in facilitating this generous donation!

Thank you to all that made this happen, we truly appreciate your investment!

BGC Joliet Receives $15,000 Grant from Panda Express

We are excited to report that the Boys & Girls Club of Joliet is once again the recipient of a Panda Cares Academic Support Grant in the amount of $15,000 from Panda Express, through their Panda Cares initiative!

Panda Express also graciously awarded $20,000 to the Boys & Girls Club of Joliet in 2020! We greatly appreciate their support and look forward to a strong and longstanding partnership moving forward!

Thank you, Panda Express, for your continued investment in the youth that need us the most in our community!

BGC Joliet Leadership Distributes 2020 Gala Awards

At the onset of the COVID 19 Pandemic, the Boys & Girls Club of Joliet was just a few days away from our 2020 Gala Fundraising Event, which unfortunately had to be postponed, due to the quickly evolving landscape with regard to public health mitigations.

Each year at the Gala, we hold an award ceremony where we induct a new member into our ALUMNI HALL OF FAME and give out the Boys & Girls Club of Joliet COMMITMENT TO YOUTH AWARD, which is given to an individual that goes above and beyond the call of duty in supporting the Club.

We are very proud to announce the following awards for 2020:

Alumni Hall of Fame: Frank Bati:

Mr. Bati is a former member and current employee of the Boys & Girls Club of Joliet for an ASTOUNDING 54 YEARS!

Alumni Hall of Fame: Roger Powell Sr:

Mr. Powell is a former member and accomplished basketball player, coach, educator, mentor, volunteer, and much more.

Commitment to Youth Award: Lee Gunter:

Mr. Gunter has been an absolute champion for the Boys & Girls Club of Joliet over the past few years. He has generously supported our special events, served as a staunch advocate of our programming, and currently serves as our Rainbow Council, Boy Scouts of America Troop and Pack Committee Leader! Mr. Gunter has brought our Scout group to new heights by sponsoring a variety of events, hikes, and camping trips!

We were happy to host Mr. Gunter at our May Board meeting, where he was presented with this well deserved award!

Congratulations to all of our award recipients, you are part of the fabric of the Boys & Girls Club of Joliet and we truly appreciate you!

2021 Annual Campaign

On March 12, 2020, two days before our 2020 Gala and with a building full of children already facing pressing challenges and adversity, the Club made the difficult decision to close the building to kids and cancel the event due to the onset of the COVID 19 Pandemic. The Club is relied on by youth of all backgrounds in the Joliet and surrounding communities for a variety of services, including academic tutoring, mentoring, meal service, and proven high yield activities. The majority of our members reside in homeless shelters, are in the foster care system, or come from single parent homes below the poverty line, so fully ceasing services was simply not an option.

Roughly 75% of the Clubs projected revenue for 2020 was essentially erased or uncertain, so the staff immediately went into high gear and the Club shifted the mission to direct emergency response and distribution mode, in order to provide critical services to Joliet community youth. Through a partnership with the Northern IL Food Bank, the Club was quickly able to begin grab & go meal service to the community via curbside pickup. The Club then utilized a partnership with The United Way of Will County to serve as the Joliet East Side distribution site for PPE during the initial shortage and did the same for essential hygiene products and family items.

This was PHASE 1 of our response. As we approached the Summer months, the Club shifted into PHASE 2 of the response, by leveraging corporate partners for funding and adding programmatic elements to the initial emergency response protocols. The Club was able to partner with T-Mobile, who sponsored the entire 2020 Alternative Summer Session, the first of its kind at BGC Joliet. Staff quickly developed a plan of action for programming and unveiled a multi-faceted alternative model that blends direct hands on activities, via a weekly activity kit, interactive videos of Club staff, and telephone/Zoom mentoring. The blended approach was necessary because a large number of the Clubs members come from the District 86 school district and would not receive take-home laptops until the Fall of 2020.

We then added academic components to the blended Summer programming model, which would become our 2020/21 Alternative Fall/Winter program, utilizing elements of the Summer model, but with the addition of virtual tutoring and academic reinforcement modules. To ease the burden for clients, all membership dues for any type of programming or initiative in 2020 was 100% waived, so that all youth in the community could participate.

The result of the Club's immense efforts in 2020 during the COVID 19 Pandemic garnered a great deal of community and corporate support for BGC Joliet, positioning the Club to enter PHASE 3 of the response in 2021, which is currently on-going and featured a safe and seamless re-opening of the physical Club facility (in accordance with municipal and state health guidelines) in March as an E-Learning Support Center for District 86 students and will now shift into a re-opening of our popular Summer Session, which features the only youth dedicated swimming pool on the East side of Joliet. Further, all member dues have been WAIVED for 2021.

The G.W. Buck Boys & Girls Club is ready, willing, and able to ensure that all youth reach their full potential as productive, caring, and responsible citizens and we look forward to another strong year of service, as we continue to encourage our youth to fight through adversity and find their GREAT future.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT

Our "Sponsor Spotlight" for the month of May is on the CRANE COMPOSITES!

Crane Composites is a valued and trusted sponsor of BGC Joliet and we truly appreciate their efforts in providing support.

Over the past few years Crane Composites has provided a great deal of support and assistance to BGC Joliet, notably:

-Generous annual monetary donations, particularly in 2020 during the COVID 19 Pandemic, which provided critical support during an uncertain time.

-Material donations for BGC Joliet infrastructure projects.

-Advocacy and support during holidays and milestones throughout each year.

Thank you, Crane Composites, you help us to create Great Futures for youth that need us the most in our community!

UPCOMING EVENTS

What:   In-Person 2021 Summer Session

When:  July 6-August 13

Where: Boys & Girls Club of Joliet

*The 2021 Summer Session is currently AT CAPACITY. Clients can utilize the waiting list by visiting: www.bgcjoliet.com/summer21

What: Cricket Wireless Family Support Drive   

When: Sat, June 26 10 AM-2 PM

Where: Boys & Girls Club of Joliet-Curbside Drop-Off