“This year marks the Boys & Girls Club’s five-year anniversary. I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has made our club what it is today, whether you have donated money, time, have worked on one of our many committees or on our Board of Directors, or maybe you have some of your own kids involved. Thank you.

The theme of our upcoming annual fund drive couldn’t be more true, ‘It Just Takes One.’ It just takes one day in the life of a child that can have a huge impact on their future; one caring adult can create an unbreakable bond with a vulnerable child that will last throughout their lifetime; one Boys & Girls Club can offer hope to an entire community.

This summer there will be many new young children who walk into our clubs, perhaps a bit scared at first, but soon so proud to be going to THEIR club. They will reach deep into their pocket and pull out that little piece of plastic that looks a lot like mom’s or dad’s debit card, but it’s got their name on it. This is THEIR membership card for THEIR club. They will hand it over to the staff behind the desk and our staff will warmly greet them by their name and ask them how they are doing. These kids will have huge smiles and will glow with pride, and so anxious to get involved with whatever fun activities the staff have in store for them today.

This is the Boys & Girls Club. It’s fun with a purpose! We keep it fun for kids, but while they don’t know it, they are learning new things like how to cooperate, how to respect people who are different or how to play a game of pool.

We started with zero clubs and now we have five sites. We started with zero members and at the end of last year we had more than 1,600. In the past five years, we have served upwards of 20,000 free healthy lunches in the summer. This year we are expecting about 40,000 visits by our club members. We also have a Peer Court Program that works quietly in the background helping those kids who made a bad choice learn from it.

One caring adult can create an unbreakable bond with a vulnerable child that will last throughout their lifetime. This is what the Boys & Girls Club is all about; the relationships our staff and volunteers have with our members. It’s pretty simple really. We improve the lives of children and families. It’s our mission. It’s what we do. This is why people like you believe in our organization. It’s why people write checks to the Boys & Girls Club throughout the year. We couldn't do it without people like you. I look forward to the next five years!”

Kevin Quevillon is the executive director of the Boys and Girls Club of Portage County.