Boys and Girls Club selected as charity for Difference Makers campaign

Helping others in our community is at the heart of the Daily American Republic’s Difference Makers program.

Where there’s a need, someone normally finds a way to uncover a solution. That never-say-no attitude is what keeps many programs, organizations, and individuals from suffering the kind of fate that hinders a community.

The DAR is honored to report daily, weekly, and monthly on the people who make a difference in our little portion of the world. And the third Thursday of every August is the zenith of our work.

That’s the evening we recognize those volunteers at our Difference Makers banquet at the Black River Coliseum. This year’s event, our fifth, will be Aug. 17.

The event also is the newspaper’s opportunity to help raise money for a local non-profit. In the past we have raised money for the United Gospel Rescue Mission, The Bread Shed, FosterAdopt Connect and Haven House. In total, we’ve donated nearly $25,000 to those organizations.

This year’s Difference Makers charity is the Boys & Girls Club of the Heartland. The organization reaches hundreds of our area youth yearly.

The BGC began serving our community in 2000 and has grown from two school-based sites with 60 members to nine locations in Poplar Bluff and Neelyville.

“BGC focuses on academics, healthy lifestyles, good character, and citizenship. BGC fosters positive relationships with adults, provides opportunities for new experiences and a place to make new friends, and an environment where children can learn and play safely during out-of-school time,” Terri McCormick, who serves as director of development and chief financial officer, explained.

“We started in 2000 with 25 members, slowly increasing our enrollment over the next five years. In 2005, we had 200 members. In 2012, we opened ‘school-based’ sites and increased our enrollment to 425. We currently have 723 enrolled in Boys & Girls Club of the Heartland,” she said.

Chris Rushin serves as chief executive officer for the BGC, and he is looking forward to the Difference Makers program highlighting what the club does.

“We are honored to be chosen as the DAR’s Difference Makers charity recipient. This blessing is another opportunity for our team of over 85 professionals to highlight the incredible kids we serve every day,” Rushin said.

Robbie Toth-Cosby, executive unit director for BGC, said many of the youth who sign up for the club’s programs are shy. They also come from many different backgrounds. Watching them grow is one of the many benefits of the job.

“Once youth get to know the staff, they come out of their shells and show us who they really are. We, as staff, get to watch members grow and excel in both academic and life settings. They build bonds and create meaningful relationships with other youth as well as the staff,” Toth-Cosby explained.

“Once members graduate from high school, many choose to come to work for Boys & Girls Club as they go to college. If they move away, many come visit when they are back in town. Knowing that we offer a positive and safe environment to youth in the community, giving them opportunities that they might not get if they went home after school, is why we do what we do.”

The BGC is open at nine locations in Butler County, including Neelyville.

“In the 2023-24 school year, we are looking into opening a HUB in Malden. This site would serve the Malden, Campbell,

Holcomb, Clarkton, Gideon, Risco and Bernie school districts,” McCormick said.

She added the move could potentially help reach more than 150 additional students.

Rushin shared some good news with the Poplar Bluff R-I School Board last month. The BGC is in the process of putting plans together to build a Teen Center on school district property adjacent to the senior high school.

Rushin explained his vision for a 40,000-square-foot facility on the hill behind the baseball field to expand educational, vocational, and social growth opportunities for teens in Poplar Bluff and throughout Southeast Missouri.

All construction costs, which Rushin estimated at approximately $10 million, would be paid by the Boys & Girls Club, and should the center ever close, both the building and the property would revert to school district ownership.

Rushin said he had already secured $2 million in state grant funding along with another $1 million from private stakeholders, as well as a pledge for the cost of the preliminary ground clearance.

He stated his intention to pay for the facility through fundraising and not financing.

“BGC has never had a place of its own to call home. For 23 years, we have relied on the generosity of our number-one partner, the Poplar Bluff R-I School District,” McCormick said.

“A generation of kids was relegated to using vacant spaces or common-use classrooms such as music, art, and computer labs for after-school enrichment programs. After more than two decades of service to thousands of kids and even more stories of success, BGC has proven its worth and value to the future of our area.”

BGC also offers free college classes to sophomores through seniors with its Bright Futures Program.

For more information about all of the programs, go to the website bgcpb.org .

To help raise additional funds for the BGC, the DAR will donate a portion of every subscription sold between now and Aug. 17 to the program. The BGC will also receive a portion of funds generated through the Difference Makers campaign. The final donation will be announced and presented Aug. 17, at the Difference Makers banquet.

To help with this fundraiser, please reach out to anyone at the BGC or DAR.

Chris is the publisher for The Daily American Republic and can be reached at cpruett@darnews.com .