The Wellington Community Foundation Board of Directors has been working overtime to identify the biggest needs during the COVID-19 pandemic, and when the Neil S. Hirsch Family Boys & Girls Club in Wellington announced the expansion of its summer program to help first responders and healthcare professionals find a safe place for their children, the foundation jumped right in.
“It was a priority for us to re-open for direct service to children because of parents who need us more than ever before,” Boys & Girls Clubs of Palm Beach County President & CEO Jaene Miranda said. “Without our summer camps, these parents would have to choose between not going to work or leaving their children at home unattended.”
The Boys & Girls Clubs of Palm Beach County faced unprecedented costs due to re-opening during the pandemic and the added expense of continuing large-scale food donation programs. The organization launched a campaign to raise $750,000 this summer to cover the extra costs.
The Wellington Community Foundation is laser focused on helping Wellington children in need and voted to fund this summer camp initiative with a donation to the Wellington club in the amount of $8,500.
“The Wellington Community Foundation is honored to donate to the Wellington Boys & Girls Club summer camp $8,500 to help care and support the children of our first responders and healthcare professionals as they focus on saving lives,” WCF Chair Tom Wenham said.
Miranda joined Wenham and WCF board members Jim Sackett, Maggie Zeller, James Seder and Hope Barron at the WCF office to accept the donation on Thursday, Aug. 6.
“The Boys & Girls Clubs have been fulfilling their mission of helping youngsters through athletics and a myriad of other programs for many years,” Sackett said. “Now comes, perhaps, its most important and crucial mission, paying back to those who have been on the frontlines of the pandemic. The Wellington Community Foundation is proud to be able to sponsor some youngsters for the club’s summer camp program. It allows their first responder parents and healthcare professionals to continue with their essential work.”
Supporting the Boys & Girls Club is near and dear to the heart of WCF Vice Chair Maria Becker.
“As a board member of both the Wellington Community Foundation and the Neil S. Hirsch Family Boys & Girls Club, I am proud to see both of these organizations join together to offer help to the first responder families who give so much to our wonderful community,” Becker said. “For more than 30 years, the Boys & Girls Club has provided a place for the children of Wellington to spend time where they are safe and nurtured. We always say that bright futures start at the Boys & Girls Club. Now the people who are essential to our village during this challenging time can rest assured that the Wellington Community Foundation is lending a hand to make sure that their kids are taken care of while they take care of us.”
WCF Board Member Mickey Smith said that Wellington’s Boys & Girls Club is always deserving of the community’s support. “I am especially pleased that the foundation is able to support the club during this pandemic,” he said. “The Boys & Girls Club is helping the children of so many first responders and healthcare professionals. It feels great to be a part of that effort.”
The Wellington Community Foundation is a nonprofit charitable organization committed to benefiting Wellington’s seniors, children and veterans by supporting and improving their quality of life. They count on the foundation and its supporters, donors and volunteers all year long, but during a time of crisis, it is even more important to take care of the vulnerable and help “build a stronger community.”
To join in this effort, visit www.wellingtoncommunityfoundation.org.
