The annual fundraiser gala for the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Northland was held on Thursday, May 1, bringing together corporate sponsors, community members, and other donors for their biggest fundraiser of the year.

For more than 50 years, the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Northland have helped countless youth find a safe, positive place to engage in a variety of high-impact programs and activities.

“Yeah, a lot of the kids that come to our clubs are they come from low-income households, or you know, mom and dad are just working in the evenings, and they need a safe place to go after school. So, we offer healthy choices for them, healthy meals, active games and activities for them to participate in. We do arts programming, science programming, really anything that they might be interested in we are serving,” said Chief Operating Officer Emily Burnside.

Bell Bank, the presenting sponsor for the gala, has used its “Pay It Forward” program to raise thousands of dollars within its employee base to give to the Boys and Girls Club.

“The ‘Pay It Forward’ program was started back in about 2016 by Bell Bank by our CEO. Each year every full-time employee at the bank receives a thousand dollars to give to any organization or individual they choose, charitable of course in nature…my first experience actually with the Boys and Girls Club was there was a Pay It Forward pool, we raised $25,000 and put the refresh or hit the refresh button on the games room and cafeteria out of the Lincoln Park branch,” said Tim McShane with Bell Bank.

In addition to serving thousands of meals and helping provide homework tutoring, the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Northland have provided more than a half-million dollars in scholarships for college and post-secondary education.

The Boys and Girls Club is always accepting donations, and a link to their donation page can be found here.