The Boys & Girls Clubs of Rutherford County raised $109,000 during their First Annual It Just Takes One campaign.  The funds raised from this campaign will provide need based scholarships.

“We are excited to meet and exceed our initial and ambitious first year goal for our It Just Takes One campaign,” said Todd Bale, Chief Professional Officer of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Rutherford County. “We had great leadership in Kendra Cooke, Pat Murphy, and Ginny Wright. Our community and supporters have been inspiring and amazing investors in our Clubs and our youth. We had an ‘angel donor,’ who came through with a heroic gift to set the pace for our campaign.”

As the largest youth development agency in the County, Murfreesboro and Smyrna have risen to be the #1 and #2 most active Boys & Girls Club in the state of Tennessee as measured by their average daily attendance.  Each day over 700 youth in Rutherford County attend the Boys & Girls Club. 

“It is our responsibility to raise money so we can provide a safe place for our children to grow, learn and build relationships and a sense of community,” said Kendra Cooke, It Just Takes One campaign Chair. “Reaching our goal is humbling, but our job is not done.  We have to invest in our children. They are our future!”  

The Boys & Girls Club is committed to helping kids stay in school, be good citizens, and live healthy lifestyles.  The Boys & Girls Clubs mission is to inspire and enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, and responsible citizens.

“Our membership grew 700 youth last year alone and the obvious need for our program continues to strain the available resources,” said Bale. “We will scholarship or discount about $900,000 worth of services annually to those youth and families who need us most. We believe it is mission-critical to ensure that our lifesaving programs remain affordable and accessible to the community’s most challenged families. Our reality is, as exciting as reaching our initial goal, the true need looks to be about three times of what we have raised. Our youth are precious and valuable to our community; failure to meet the kids’ needs or to potentially turn needy families away from the program is simply not an acceptable option.”

 If you would like to sponsor a child at the Boys & Girls Club, contact Beth Jennings at beth.jennings@bgcrc.net or (615) 890-2582.

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Rutherford County, founded in 1986, is a non-profit, privately-funded 501(c)(3) organization and depends on private donations and volunteers to accomplish its mission.  The Clubs annually serve some 2,600 youth.  To make a donation or to volunteer, contact the Boys & Girls Club office at 893-KIDS or visit the web site at www.bgcrc.net.