Boys and Girls Club gets support, money from community

Each year, thousands of children have reason to thank the South Queens Boys and Girls Club (SQBGC) for providing them with a place to grow, learn, and spend time.
This year, however, the staff of the SQBGC are the ones offering thanks.
As the organization continues the drive toward its $7.2 million goal to renovate its facility, an outpouring of community support has SQBGC humbled and more than a little pleased.
Citibank recently awarded the Club a $10,000 grant to be put towards the facility renovation project.
Bibi Jairam, Director of Program Initiatives and Special Projects at SQBGC, called Citibank “one of the Club’s most loyal supporters” over the years.
But, while among the most loyal, Citibank is just one of many community organizations jumping at the chance to help SQBGC.
Hundreds of toys, books, and educational games were recently donated by Barnes and Noble Booksellers, the Coca-Cola Company, UPS, Brooks Brothers, and Bank of America. The toys will be put to use during the Club’s upcoming Children’s Holiday Party.
Outback Steakhouse has announced that it, too, will lend its time to SQBGC. The restaurant’s Queens Center Mall location will hold a holiday party for the SQBGC staff in the coming weeks.
Restaurant Proprietor Jennifer Torres, who has worked with SQBGC on various projects for years, is organizing the dinner.
“Outback Steakhouse has a commitment to the communities that we are in,” said Torres. “Many of the staff and Club parents are loyal customers of our restaurant, so this is a way for us to give back to a cause that is important to our diners as well as a way to support a very important organization.”
Jairam said the scheduled renovations will allow SQBGC to expand its role in the lives of community children. The Club will add a regulation-sized gym, a dance room, and significantly more classroom space.
“We’ll be able to serve more children,” said Jairam. “They need an escape from the dangers that are out there. This is one way they want to give them that. They need to know there are people out there who care.”
Jairam said the Club also hopes to establish itself as a “community center.”
“We would like to be a place where various community organizations can hold their monthly meetings, for example,” she said.
Of the $7.2 million goal set by the Club, $3.8 million has already been raised.
“Our community has always supported us, and most of our donors have been donors for many years,” said Jairam. “But this year, we were really overwhelmed. It’s just gone above and beyond past years.”
For more information on the Club or ways to support it, call 718-441-6050 or visit www.sqbgc.net.