“All children deserve a chance to succeed.” With that one statement, a private donor made sure that remote learning was a continual option for Boys & Girls Clubs of Illinois members for the remainder of the school year.
With Covid-19 forcing District 186 schools to suspend in-person classes, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Illinois (BGCCIL) quickly pivoted, restructured learning space in all nine locations and opened for all day remote learning.
“We knew we had to do our part to keep working families working,” said BGCCIL CEO Tiffany Mathis. “That meant making sure parents had a place for their school – aged children to go during regular school hours to do their Zoom classes, get educational assistance, and receive meals.”
Transitioning from the traditional after-school model of being open from 2:30-6:00 p.m. to a new remote learning schedule requires the Club locations to be open 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. This significant expansion of services comes at a cost.
“Unfortunately, we had to charge a much higher fee for remote learning than regular after-school programming and that put an additional strain on our already struggling families,” Mathis said. “This amazingly generous gift will remove the financial burden to our families while also allowing us to expand our services to accommodate more remote learners.”
The $250,000 donation is designated to cover the added operational costs of supporting full-day program operations at all nine BGCCIL locations as well as alleviating the weekly fees that families were assessed for the remainder of the 2020-2021 school year. Additionally, this gift will support future Club members as BGCCIL seeks to add another satellite space for remote learning supports.
“It is difficult to convey how much the gift means to the BGCCIL and the families we serve,” said BGCCIL Board President Michael Reisinger. “We thank this private donor for their generosity and support of our organization.”
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The mission of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Illinois 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. We serve more than 900 youth at our Central Unit and eight local elementary and middle schools each year, providing character building activities and academic programs designed to deliver measurable outcomes.
