To make a change, you sometimes have to dig deep into your own pockets.
Alachua County Commissioner Lee Pinkoson jump-started a plan to save a local Boys and Girls Club last week when he offered a $37,500 donation to help keep its doors open for at least three more months.
His contribution will give the Boys and Girls Club of Alachua County more time to speak with local donors and alumni and raise funds to keep the Southeast Rotary Boys and Girls Club in east Gainesville’s Lincoln Estates area running at its current capacity, said Keith Blanchard, president and chief professional officer of the program.
Pinkoson offered the donation at a meeting about the endangered club last week after hearing the passionate responses of local residents who wanted to fight for the program.
“I didn’t understand the gravity of the situation [at first],” Pinkoson said. “There was a commitment of people there to help it continue on.”
He had been considering making a donation to the Boys and Girls Club for several years, and this seemed like the right time.
“I believe firmly that children don’t ask to be born, and they deserve a chance to be successful,” he said. “The Boys and Girls Club offers a positive alternative in children’s lives.”
The Lincoln Estates-area club offers after school programs, summer activities and sports leagues to local children.
Tough economic times have led the Boys and Girls Club of Alachua County to consider reducing its operations at that site and sending local children to another east Gainesville program for certain activities.
Although he expressed much gratitude for Pinkoson’s donation, Blanchard acknowledged that it was not enough to guarantee that the club will not close in the near future.
“As of right now, it’s a small piece of a pretty big puzzle,” he said.
Blanchard will attend several meetings over the next few weeks to work on fundraising and support for the program. The fate of the Lincoln Estates-area club will depend on the strength of the public’s response.
Even if the Lincoln Estates site closes, there are two other Boys and Girls Club programs in east Gainesville that remain open. Another site will open in east Gainesville on Feb. 1, and there is also a club in central Gainesville.
“Those will continue, and [they] are growing,” Blanchard said. “It’s not like we’re pulling the plug on east Gainesville and focusing someplace else.”
