‘Angel’ donor keeps Boys & Girls Club open

September 23, 2009

By JoAn Bjarko

The Wellington

 

A Denver woman has become the angel of Wellington with a donation that will keep the financially struggling Boys & Girls Club open through May.

The emergency gift provides a much-appreciated reprieve for the club and community to begin building an endowment that will sustain the club for years to come.

“This incredible guardian angel did this for the kids,” said Kathi Wright, executive director of Boys & Girls Clubs of Larimer County. “Now we need to work for the sustainability of the club.”

Wright said the donor, who heard about the club’s possible closure on 9News, asked that she remain anonymous and that the amount of the gift not be disclosed.

Kari Jo Lawrence, extension director in Wellington, recounted getting a phone call from a woman who said the news report “touched her heart and she wanted to help” with a generous donation.

“It’s a miracle,” said program coordinator Stacia Steadman. “Angels come in all shapes and sizes. I’m ecstatic.”

“I’m happy the Boys & Girls Club is going to be staying open,” said 10-year-old Sadie Menke on a sunny Friday afternoon.

The club is open after school Monday through Friday from 2:30 to 7 p.m. It is open additional hours during school breaks, and it has a summer program. Youth ages 6 to 18 are invited to join with an annual membership fee of $5.

As the recession drags on, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Larimer County has found donations and grants declining. Many area businesses and organizations have contributed financially over the years, but an endowment was not started until last week.

In response to the club’s pleas for help earlier this month, Wellington area supporters have contributed $1,250 to date. From that sum, $1,000 will be used to launch the Wellington club’s endowment to be managed by the Community Foundation of Northern Colorado. Wright said the endowment would need $3 million to generate enough funding for the Wellington extension’s annual operating budget.

“We can accept gifts of stock, land, anything,” Wright said.

There are three Boys & Girls Clubs in Larimer County. Wellington became part of the program in 1994 and uses a town-owned building rent-free in Centennial Park. The town pays utilities and also budgeted $2,000 for the club this year.

The Fort Collins club has a $4 million endowment provided by an anonymous donor. A few years ago, it built a new facility near Lincoln Middle School on land donated by Poudre School District. The school shares the facility and pays half of the maintenance and custodial costs, Wright said.

The Loveland Boys & Girls Club has a new facility that it shares with New Vision Charter School. The land was donated, Wright said, and the club has an endowment of $1 million with another $1 million pledged.

Wright said her dream for the Wellington club is to purchase Cheyenne Regional Medical Center’s vacant building on Sixth Street. It’s listed for $1.3 million. The location is perfect, Wright said, because it is midway between the schools.

“Perhaps we could share it with a charter high school,” she added.

Wellington closed its high school in 1964 when it became part of the consolidated Poudre R-1 School District. The town had fewer than 600 people at the time. Town population is currently estimated at 5,500, and many residents are longing for a high school again. Charter schools have to provide their own land and building, but they receive the district’s usual funding per pupil for operating expenses.

The Wellington club started its fiscal year in June with a $187,000 budget. About $125,000 goes to salaries and benefits for the Wellington extension staff and a share of the executive staff.

Wright noted that 85 percent of charitable donors in the United States are individuals. The club needs a multitude of local donors who can contribute a little bit each month, she said.

People who would like to donate to the Wellington club may call Wright at 223-1709, extension 105, or mail a check to Boys & Girls Clubs, 103 Smokey St., Fort Collins CO 80525. Checks should designate the Wellington extension endowment.

Wright noted that a state law, the Colorado Child Care Contribution Tax Credit, gives donors a 50 percent state tax credit on their contribution. A donation of $1,000, for example, will result in a state tax credit of $500, on top of the donor’s regular federal charitable deduction.