Boys & Girls Club seeking sponsors for its Great Futures for Kids 11th Annual Campaign Breakfast

Jan. 29, 2013 - PRLog -- The Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Oxnard and Port Hueneme is seeking sponsors for its upcoming Great Futures for Kids Campaign Breakfast. This year marks the 11th annual event on March 21 at 7 a.m. at the Residence Inn by Marriott at River Ridge in Oxnard. Internationally recognized graffiti artist Erik Wahl will bring his inspirational message to support the Club as this year’s keynote speaker. Armed with a blank canvas, paint brushes and pots of color, Wahl challenges audiences to see the world differently than they’re used to.

The breakfast is a community rally to help create Great Futures for Kids by supporting club programs that ensure children grow up to graduate high school and achieve self-sufficiency, along with strong character and leadership.

“This campaign helps bridge the gap between membership fees and program costs,” said Tim Blaylock, Chief Professional Officer. “Our 2013 campaign goal is to raise $500,000 to help us provide the quality programs and services to our more than 9,000 Oxnard youth and their families. We are grateful for the support of our community members and local businesses. We would not be able to provide these youth the level of support they need without help.”

Families pay $20 per year to become members of the club; the club pays the remaining $500 per year in program fees for each child. It’s money well spent, as members of the BGCOP have a 96 percent high school graduation rate, compared to Oxnard’s overall student rate of only 70 percent. “Ultimately, this means hundreds of thousands of dollars per graduate in community savings in the social services required of students who drop out of school,” Blaylock said. “We give the community an enormous return on investment when they donate.”

For sponsorship opportunities, contact Kelly Ventimiglia at 805-815-4959 or kventimiglia@bgcop.org. To make a donation to the campaign, visit www.positiveplace4kids.org/getinvolved/donate.htm.

Wahl is an artist, author and entrepreneur, as well as a popular corporate speaker. He uses on-stage painting to illustrate his message of striving for superior performance to help businesses, nonprofit organizations and individuals reach their goals. His clients include AT&T, Disney, London School of Business, Microsoft, FedEx, Exxon Mobil, Ernst & Young, and Xprize. He is known as “the Warhol of Wall Street, the Renoir of ROI and the Picasso of Productivity.”

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Oxnard and Port Hueneme exists to inspire and enable all young people to realize their full potential as productive, responsible and caring citizens. With three full-service clubs, 18 school program sites and one housing site, the organization is one of the largest of its kind in California, serving 9,000 members annually. The group is also the first Boys & Girls Club of its kind to open a site inside a Juvenile Justice Center in the state of California. Program areas offered to youth include character and leadership development, education and career development, health and life skills, the arts, technology and sports, fitness and recreation. For more information, visit www.positiveplace4kids.org.