Happy Holidays!
Most of us cannot imagine the holidays without laughter and warm memories, giving and receiving gifts, enjoying a hot home-cooked meal, and being surrounded by family and close friends. This is the stark reality however, for too many families at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Santa Monica. Instead, the holidays can be an added stress for families that struggle each month to buy gas to get to work, to buy food, and to pay their utilities so they will have heat and hot water. Afterschool and childcare programs are an added expense, and enrichment activities are a luxury out of reach.
The Boys & Girls Clubs of Santa Monica is a resource that all families can afford. Our year-round afterschool program offers a broad range of enriching activities for a $20 dollar annual membership fee—(even though it costs us $1,000 per member per year) and no young person is ever turned away due to economic hardship.
We can offer this to our families because of the tremendous support of people like you.
You care about those living in poverty. You understand how complicated it is, and that a single service or program at one point in time, is not sufficient to lift a person over the barriers imposed by poverty.
When you invest in the Boys & Girls Clubs of Santa Monica, you invest in a powerful continuum of programs and services that is the manifestation of our mission. We have connected dozens of high-quality programs to meet the needs of children at every stage of their youth, whether in response to crisis or in service to our steadfast commitment to helping young people succeed in school and ultimately in life.
Today, we are striving to be a dynamic data-driven organization. We measure our outcomes to ensure that what we are doing helps young people realize their potential. We look for opportunities within the organization—and for new ideas beyond it—to enhance every one of our services and programs and positively affect the lives of children and their families.
This Holiday Season your help can make a difference! You can help ensure that the youth development programs offered by the Boys & Girls Clubs of Santa Monica continue to impact young lives for the better. Your support will help to enhance our computer labs, advance our educational programs, strengthen our art, music, athletic and family support programs, and help to create stronger and healthier young people in our community.
We cannot ease the burdens our members and their families though, without your generous support throughout the year–and especially during the holidays. Your gift is extremely important because it offers immediate resources that are directed to current needs and opportunities, at our 10 sites serving over 4000 young people.
I kindly ask that you consider making an investment in our Boys & Girls Club this holiday season. Each donation, no matter how big or small, helps bring joy and happy memories to our families in need.
Thank you in advance for your heartwarming support and generosity.
Happy Holidays to you and yours,
Tim Blaylock
Chief Executive Officer
