A Message from Debbie Wagner, CEO |
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Happy 2021!
At our recent BGCT Annual Meeting, it was wonderful to celebrate and recognize the work and efforts of our Board members, staff and this year's 2021 Click for Kids Awardees, Diane and Tim Meyer/Team Cholla Foundation and TEP, our Youth Impact Awardees. Amid extremely tough circumstances, we worked together to continue to serve the kids of our community, providing meals, virtual programming, offering on-site, full day distance learning combined with BGCT programming and distributing Halloween Goodies, Thanksgiving and Holiday Meals and gifts to our young people and families. All year, we did whatever it took to be there for them.
As we dive into this new year, I want to celebrate and recognize our donors, community partners, volunteers, Board and staff for the courage and commitment you continually demonstrated in 2020 on behalf of our youth.
The outpouring of support we have received gives me hope and optimism about 2021. We are not out of the woods, but as vaccines are distributed, it seems like there’s a light in the distance. Let us all keep doing what we can to stay healthy. Wear a mask, wash your hands and practice social distancing as you can. Hopefully by this time next year, this will all be a memory.
Our mission has never been more relevant – or essential – and no matter what 2021 brings, we’ve proven we have the resilience and strength for the journey ahead.
Stay safe.
Debbie
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Club members across Tucson were able to go outside and enjoy the afternoon snow shower while participating in remote "distance" learning at the Clubs. |
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COVID-19 has forced the closure of many things, but the Clubs are still able to support it's teens with teen programming. Recently, Roy Drachman safely hosted
it's teen Club members for a cookout and game night.
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Introducing Our 2021 New Board Officers |
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Boys & Girls Clubs of Tucson’s Board of Directors held their annual meeting and awards ceremony on January 25, 2021. The virtual event was attended by more than 60 honored guests including Board members, donors, staff members and the 12 Clubhouse Youth of the Year winners for 2021. An important part of the evening was electing the 2021 Board Officers, including incoming President, Julie Butcher. Julie has been a Board member for seven years. In her remarks Butcher said, “I am excited about the future of the Clubs, and looking forward to serving the organization and our community. Perhaps now more than ever, our Club members need us to be there for them to support their learning needs through COVID and to continue to provide access to a caring staff and a safe place to go while parents are working. We are grateful to our generous donors who invest in our youth and help us fulfill our mission.”
Join us in welcoming Boys & Girls Clubs of Tucson's 2021 Board Officers.
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2021 National Bronze Medallion Awarded to Laurie Wetterschneider |
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Laurie Wetterschneider photographed here with Club members from the Jim & Vicki Click Clubhouse after
preforming at the Milbanks event in 2019. Photo taken prior to COVID-19.
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The National Bronze Medallion is award to Board members who have provided exceptional devotion and exemplary service to the Boys & Girls Clubs.
During her 30 years of service to Boys & Girls Clubs of Tucson, Laurie Wetterschneider has gone above and beyond what it means to serve as a Board member. As an Emeritus Board member, Laurie is a passionate advocate for our youth. During her tenure, she has championed and executed the implementation of new fundraising events, like our annual Party with a Purpose Signature Dinner and The EVENT featuring 50 of Tucson's Best Restaurants; she's spearheaded the funding for and the programmatic development of fine arts programming opportunities for the Clubs' youth, like Finding Your Voice with Carla Dirlikov Canales, world renowned Mezzo-soprano opera singer. And she has selflessly raised millions of dollars for the organization in her 30 years of service - bringing in more than $250,000 in individual donations in 2020 alone.
Please join us in congratulating Laurie Wetterschneider for this grand achievement!
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2021 "Click for Kids" Award Recipient Announced |
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Since 2014, Diane and Tim Meyer of The Cholla Foundation have rallied 32 teams of golfers from across the U.S. and raised more than a quarter-million dollars for the
Boys & Girls Clubs of Tucson.
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*Photos of Team Cholla (above)
were taken prior to COVID-19.
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Congratulations to our 2021 "Click for Kids" award recipients - Diane and Tim Meyer, Team Cholla Foundation!
The annual "Click for Kids" Award is named after our own Mr. Jim Click, and recognizes one person, couple, or organization that has made a profound and sustained impact on our Clubs kids over a significant period of time. The award is also special because the winners are selected by the Board of Directors.
Seven years ago, the Meyers had an idea to gather a group of friends from South Dakota and invite them to Tucson for an annual golf tournament where all proceeds would be donated to a local charitable organization. Since then, this couple and group of friends have grown this golf tournament to a sell out capacity including a pheasant hunt in South Dakota having raised more than $250,000 to support club operations for thousands of youth served each year.
On behalf of all of us at the BGCT we are honored to recognize Diane and Tim Meyer and the Team Cholla Foundation as our 2021 Click for Kids Awardees! Congratulations and thank you Diane and Tim for your wonderful support for our kids.
Our Click for Kids Award recipients will be officially recognized at our Youth of the Year broadcast event this spring.
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Congratulations to Our 2021 Youth Impact Award Recipient |
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TEP staff and volunteers assist Club members with selecting the perfect items at the annual shopping spree.
Photos were taken prior to COVID-19.
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Congratulations to our 2021 "Youth Impact" award recipients - Tucson Electric Power
The Youth Impact Award was created in 2016 to annually recognize one individual, couple, or organization that has made a consequential impact on our young people through innovative, direct Club programming and support. It is our great pleasure to announce that Tucson Electric Power was selected to receive the 2021 Youth Impact Award for their continued and generous commitment to our BGCT youth! Since 2001,TEP has sponsored an annual Shopping Spree Event for 120 of our Club members as well as numerous events and provided in-kind support totaling over $700,000. BGCT has also had the privilege to benefit from the service and leadership of TEP's CEO Susan Gray, as one of our esteemed Board members.
We are so honored to recognize and thank TEP for their tremendous passion and support for our BGCT young people and mission
On behalf of the Board of Directors, staff and especially the kids, thank you for all that TEP does to support our youth that need us most. BGCT would not be where it is today without TEP’s partnership.
We look forward to officially recognizing TEP at our Youth of the Year Celebration broadcast event this spring.
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Membership and Distance Learning - January 2021 |
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The Clubs will continue to serve our community Monday through Friday with extended hours of 8:00am until 6:00pm. Every Club is staffed with amazing Youth Development Professionals who are ready to support youth with virtual learning linked to their schools. After our members complete their school day, the Clubs will engage them in recreation, art and other enrichment activities focused on their development. |
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2021 Clubhouse Youth of the Year |
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Photos of Youth of the Year were taken prior to COVID-19 or in a socially distanced environment. |
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Since 1947, "Youth of the Year" has been Boys & Girls Clubs of America's premier recognition program, celebrating the extraordinary achievements of Club members. It is our signature effort to foster a new generation of leaders, who are fully prepared to live and lead in a diverse, global and integrated world economy.
Each year our six local Clubhouses invite their teen members to compete for the title of Clubhouse Youth of the Year and runner-up. The six Clubhouse winners then go on to compete for the city title "Mark Irvin City of Tucson" Youth of the Year and will then go on to serve as an ambassador for Boys & Girls Club of Tucson in the state competition. Ultimately, the goal being to achieve the coveted national title. Over the decades, these young people have exemplified the Boys & Girls Club mission and are proof to the impact Clubs make in transforming and saving kids’ lives.
Winners at all levels of the competition receive scholarship dollars.
Congratulations to the 2021 Clubhouse Youth of the Year
Frank & Edith Morton (FEM) Clubhouse Director Daniel Miranda
Youth of the Year Adam Manriquez & Kitanna Washington
Holmes Tuttle (HT) Clubhouse Director Nikieia Johnson
Youth of the Year Desiree Delgado & Eric Bradford
Jim & Vicki Click (JVC) Clubhouse Director David Lopez
Youth of the Year Jaidon McIntosh-Cassa & Tadeusz Gulley
Pascua Yaqui (PY) Clubhouse Director Adam Ortiz,
Youth of the Year Melquidez Betters & Nely Sanchez
Roy Drachman (RD) Clubhouse Director Julia Tenen
Youth of the Year Eddie Loya & Esperanza Carlos
Steve Daru (SD) Clubhouse Director Anayeli Melkumyan
Youth of the Year Anycia Alarcon & Mariah Alarcon
The City Youth of the Year Competition will be held virtually on Saturday, March 6th. For more information, please contact Monica Galaz at mgalaz@bgctucson.org.
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Roy Drachman Clubhouse Club members showing off their hand-crafted "I Made it Myself" masks donated by LA LOOP. |
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As part of their national partnership with Boys & Girls Clubs of Tucson, La Loop chose the Boys & Girls Clubs of Tucson's Roy Drachman Clubhouse to be a recipient of DIY face masks. Per Pooja from ethos-giving, "LA LOOP recently launched their “I Made it Myself” Kids Mask Kit, which comes with two kids-sized face masks and materials for decorating."
Boys & Girls Clubs Roy Drachman Clubhouse participated in making DIY masks with 11 Club members. They had a great time. Here's what they had to say...
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“It was fun to draw on the face mask.” -Analisa 8yrs |
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“I liked making the face mask. I liked being able to glue things on it and make it personal for me. It was also fun because it was like a big school activity we all did together.” -Ke’andre 12yrs
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Gratitude and Appreciation |
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We'd like to take this opportunity to thank those in the community that have stepped up and supported us in serving our mission with emergency COVID-19 relief funds, programmatic grants and special gifts over the last month. We can't do it without you! |
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- Connie Hillman Family Foundation
- Dorothy & Bill Harmsen, Sr. Charitable Foundation
- Margaret T. Morris Foundation
- Linda and Stuart Nelson
- PICOR Charitable Foundation
- Lisa and John Peterson
- Simone Charitable Foundation
- Kyria Sabin - Body Works Pilates
- Steven Leuthold Family Foundation
- TMC Foundation
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Team Cholla Golf Tournament
Saturday, February 20th
Forty Niner Golf Club
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Team Cholla will be hosting its Annual Golf Tournament
February 20th at Forty Niner Golf Club
Four-Person Scramble - 12:30pm Shotgun
to benefit Boys & Girls Clubs of Tucson
Registration includes:
Green Fees, Practice Range, Cart Fees, Dinner, Prizes & Awards. Award Ceremony and Dinner will be held at the golf course clubhouse immediately following play.
Individual Mulligans/$25 | Team Skins Game/$50
Schedule
10:30am Registration / Raffle Table and Silent Auction OPEN for Bids
12:10pm Report to Carts
12:30pm Shotgun Start
4:30pm Social Hour, Cash Bar, Raffle
6:00pm Dinner & Awards
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Become a Sponsor (Includes 4)
$1000 Donation entitles your business/and or name to be displayed on sponsorship banners placed in various locations on the course, as well as tee box recognition. Sponsorship includes entry fees for four golfers ($400 value)
Register a Team (Includes 4)
$400/team includes Green Fees, Practice Range, Cart Fees, Hole Contest, Dinner, Prizes & Awards. Men’s and Coed Divisions, winning teams, each division, receive $500-$300-$200 cash prizes. Award Ceremony and Dinner will be held at the clubhouse immediately following play. Additional guests are welcome for dinner at a cost of $30 each.
Registration closes February 15th, 2021. Register early to ensure a spot, as event is limited to 32 teams.
Play will commence rain or shine. Sorry no rainchecks.
Question: Contact Tim Meyer at 605.360.1268 or timdmeyer34@gmail.com
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Other Ways to Support the Clubs |
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Did you know - Boys & Girls Clubs of Tucson is a qualifying charity for the Arizona Charitable Tax Credit. Your contribution may qualify for a dollar-for-dollar tax credit of up to $800 per family (QCO Code 20282). You may also be able to take advantage of a CARES Act provision that increases your tax-donation benefits for 2020 (see below for more information about the CARES Act). Consult your tax professional for advice on maximizing your benefits.
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Help Tucson’s Youth and Accrue Tax Benefits |
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The CARES Act, designed to help the nation recover from the pandemic, has five important implications for charitable giving.
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New Charitable Deduction for Non-Itemizers: Taxpayers who take the standard deduction can claim a charitable deduction of up to $300 for cash donations in 2020.
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Higher Deduction Limits: Individuals will be able to deduct cash gifts in 2020 to the extent of their entire adjusted gross income (AGI) rather than a cap at 60%.
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Increased Deduction Limits for Corporations: The contribution limit for corporations has been raised to 25% for cash contributions this year.
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Required Minimum Distributions Waived: For the year 2020, there will be no mandatory distributions from retirement accounts, thus allowing those accounts to recover. Once they do recover, retirement funds are a tax-wise giving strategy.
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Waiver of Penalties When Retirement Funds Are Used for Coronavirus Purposes: If you are under the age of 59½ and withdraw money from your retirement plan to cover expenses incurred by you or a family member related to the treatment of the Coronavirus, the 10% tax penalty will not apply. In the future you may consider a retirement fund gift.
Please reach out to Jill Long, VP of Fund Development to discuss what type of gift may make sense for your situation. Jill can be reached via email at jlong@bgctucson.org or direct line 520.308.3332.
Information provided above does not substitute for the advice of your tax advisor or attorney. Please see your tax advisor or attorney for full advice on implications of the CARES Act.
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The Clubs' Blue Tiles Campaign is an opportunity to make an investment in our community’s youth and to leave a legacy for future generations.
The support and commitment of the entire community is needed for this project to succeed to support the transformational growth of the organization. This growth will include capital improvements at each club, scholarship funds for more youth, an increase in STEAM activities, Workforce Development Programs, and sports.
Blue tiles will hang on front of the Harold Ashton Resource Center at 3155 East Grant Road. Each tile will be engraved with your personal message or tribute. Please consider securing a lasting tribute by purchasing your own blue tile today. To learn more, click the link below or contact Jill Long at 520.730.3369 or jlong@bgctucson.org
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Thank You To Our Partners |
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