Establishes 13 endowments (so far) worth more than $100,000

The 104-year-old Boys & Girls Club of Pawtucket has a real “good news – bad news” story:

• The Club provides much-needed recreational, educational, and nutritional services to more of Pawtucket’s kids every year, now up to some 4,000 annually, valued at $600 for each child.  But, with annual membership at $20 – a fee many families cannot afford in this city where nearly one in four children lives in poverty – each new child represents an additional $580 deficit in the agency’s budget.
• The Club’s After School Activities Program provides one-on-one homework help for Pawtucket’s 6-12-year-olds who are most at-risk for academic failure. But when it began charging a modest amount for the highly-successful, but expensive program, enrollment fell from 35 to 10.
• The Club’s Turning Point Residential Home for Boys provides intensive counseling and support for eight young, troubled residents who are recovering from parental abuse and neglect.  But, 110 boys are vying for those eight beds.

With those challenges in mind, the Boys & Girls Club of Pawtucket board has established 13 endowments, 10 at The Rhode Island Foundation, to ensure the agency can continue to serve children and families, while maintaining the agency’s fiscal health. “Our vision is that by 2005 all our program areas will be endowed,” shares Dionisia Hanson, chief advancement officer.

According to Hanson, the 10 program funds now managed by The Rhode Island are worth more than $100,000; the Club’s organizational endowment also is managed by the Foundation. “We’re encouraging supporters of the Boys and Girls Club to donate to the endowments as well as day-to-day operations, especially with bequests. Someday, each endowment will be large enough to generate significant income for programs.” The 10 endowments held at The Rhode Island Foundation are:

• the Brian Agin Memorial Fund for basketball programs,
• the Allen P. Barker Memorial Fund for athletic programs,
• the Crown Collision Centers ASAP Fund for after school programs with homework help,
• the Andy Dimant Memorial Scholarship Fund,
• the Arthur and Mary Kaufman Fund in memory of James T. Boylan for the Club’s music and art activities,
• the Dennis M. Lynch Memorial Basketball Tournament Fund,
• the John J. McMahon Memorial Fund for baseball programs,
• the Mike Pappas Athletic Fund for athletic programs,
• the Anthony and Lisa Ruddy Fund for the Club’s career planning and literacy programs, and
• the A. Henry “Hank” Soar Memorial Fund for the Reviving Baseball in the Inner City program.

Hanson reports that the Club is still looking for donors to grow endowments for art, music, technology, human resources, academics, athletics, and others. “As they grow, these endowments will provide financial security during difficult times,” she continues, noting that donations dropped 20% after 9/11, forcing the Club to temporarily freeze salaries, slow its expansion plans, and charge for some previously-free services.

The Club offers a myriad of services to Pawtucket residents.  Its youngest “consumers”, just 18 months to age 5, attend childcare and preschool at the Alfred Elson, Jr. Branch off School Street where 6-12-year-olds participate in fine arts, swimming, homework help, and numerous athletics programs.

Services for teens are provided at two downtown locations.  The TEENSupreme Center offers tutoring, job readiness and leadership programs, as well as arts, athletics, and other social recreation.  The Club’s new ARTS Center serves teens with an interest in drama, dance, illustration and painting, music, film, animation, ceramics, and photography.

Satellite programs at two of Pawtucket’s housing developments, three summer day camps, and the residential facility for boys round out the Club’s extensive offerings.

Standing in the parking lot between the two downtown facilities, Hanson shares, “One day there will be a new teen center right here.” And one can bet the Club will be looking for donations to begin the yet-to-be-built Center’s endowment!