Bayside Boys & Girls Club seeks support through house parties

Rooms, sections of structure can be sponsored by donors

Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2008

Click here to enlarge this photo Staff photo by DARWIN WEIGEL The Bayside Boys & and Girls Club in North Beach is nearing completion on its new building and is kicking off a fundraising campaign to get things rolling. E-Mail This Article | Print This Story Click here to enlarge this photo

A new innovative idea, House Party of Hope, will be introduced to key people in the community and business owners tonight at the North Beach Community Center as a means to meet new people that will help with the fundraising initiative, said Pam Wilkerson, CEO of Boys & Girls Club of Southern Maryland.

‘‘We want to get more people to serve as ambassadors for Bayside,” Wilkerson said. The idea is for people to host gatherings in their homes within their circle of friends, educating them about the Boys & Girls Club in hopes that they may become potential donors, she said.

‘‘We hope to create a new momentum for the initiative,” Wilkerson said.

Bayside Boys & Girls Club is not just for the Twin Beaches, but for all the kids of Northern Calvert County, she said. Rainbow Construction built a beautiful building, and now the concern is about having enough revenue to meet all the expenses of operating, she added.

‘‘The Bayside Building Project Recognition and Brick Campaign” also kicked off in efforts to raise capital for operating expenses of the facility. Donors can purchase bricks for $100 or $175 for the outdoor courtyard and have them etched in dedication or in memory of someone. Up to 100 characters can be etched in a brick, she said. Benches, with a name engraved in a gold plate, and each room in the club area are also available for sponsorship at varying levels.

Both multipurpose rooms already have $20,000 sponsors, Wilkerson said. Windward Key Homeowner’s Association purchased one and an anonymous business owner the other, she said. Many more rooms are in need of sponsors, who will have their names engraved on a plaque at the entrance of the room, she said.

‘‘All the money will be put right back into the operating costs,” Wilkerson said.

Bayside will have both paid and volunteer staff, she said.

‘‘At the end of the day, our success is based on trained adult professionals impacting the life of our youth. Our mission is to inspire and enable youth to realize their full potential,” Wilkerson said.

The idea is to bring the kids in and give them a sense of ownership, letting them make decisions for their club, she said. Kids vote with their feet, she said, so the idea is to make it a fun place where they can make new friends and want to come.

Bayside will have a game room with a Nintendo Wii, Xbox, pool tables, a youth lounge, two computer rooms, a gymnasium and a teen center on the top floor.

The Boys & Girls Club programming stems around five core areas: health and life skills, character development, education and career development, sports, fitness and recreation and art, Wilkerson said. The building is designed to serve 200 kids a day, she added.

Wilkerson said that they want to target different parts of the public and solicit intergenerational partnerships, getting the whole community involved. Wilkerson spoke of the idea to involve seniors from the North Beach Senior Center next door and provide a time for them to walk in the gym in the morning hours when kids are in school.

‘‘We want to get parents and grandparents involved. Volunteerism is going to be the key,” she said.

The club is scheduled to open the first week of October with programs, and a grand-opening will be held later that month.

For more information on the club and fundraising efforts go to www.bgcsm.net.