Boys & Girls Clubs raise $4 million in record time

Formula One cars may boast 0-to-60 mph averages of 2.5 seconds, but even more impressive is the speed of the successful $4 million capital campaign to raise funds to expand the Boys and Girls Clubs of Indian River County Vero Beach campus.

Campaign chairman Bruce Hammonds and wife Sandy invited board members and major contributors to their magnificent John’s Island beachside home last Tuesday for a Capital Campaign Cocktail Celebration, thanking everyone for a job well done.

The campaign was launched about a year ago with 100 percent participation from its high-powered board, and was then quickly embraced by the community.

Like others involved with the organization, Hammonds appreciates the need for positive after-school programs for the children of hard-working parents.

“So many children would otherwise be at home alone while their parents are working,” said Hammonds. “Boys and Girls Clubs provide a safe place for them to come and do their homework and participate in other activities. And it teaches them some great values.”

Having previously chaired a successful campaign for the BGC in Delaware, he noted there was a marked difference in the approach.

“In big cities you generally go to the CEOs of corporations and get about 80 percent of the contributions from them and 20 percent from individuals. Here you’ve got to get most of it from individuals,” said Hammonds. “I thought that would be difficult but it turned out not to be. I’m just amazed at how fast it happened. This is just an unbelievable community. We’ve lived in a lot of places and I can tell you, this is as generous or more generous as any of them.”

The expansion of the Vero Beach Club will enable another 125 members to be served during the school year. A former jail next door to the club will soon be demolished, and in its place a 14,000-square-foot multi-purpose facility will house classrooms, an indoor gym and an outdoor playing field. The county is providing the land at $1 a year for 50 years, renewable for another 50 years.

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