Boys and Girls Clubs of Southeast Missouri Invites Community to Holiday Events

Santa is coming to town, and he plans on visiting the Boys and Girls Clubs of Southeast Missouri at their holiday-themed event. Executive director Allen Treece says the main goal of the event is to provide a fun opportunity for families and donors to connect to the organization.

The fundraising event on Dec. 11 at the Osage Centre in Cape Girardeau consists of two separate gatherings — one for families and one for donors or anyone wishing to support the clubs.

Boys and Girls Clubs of Southeast Missouri is one of 4,000 agencies across the country and one of 13 in Missouri. Treece says the organization’s primary focus is providing structure for area youth through their after-school and summer programs. In both programs, Boys and Girls Clubs provide safe, fun opportunities for children to develop good character and healthy lifestyles.

At Cape Girardeau’s Boys and Girls Clubs after-school program, this impact is clearly seen in the children who attend. Eleven-year-old Jazlyn Marshall says she has learned how to manage her anger and be a leader for others at Boys and Girls Clubs.

“When I came here, I learned new things. [I’ve learned] that trusting others is a good thing and communicating,” Marshall says.

Members of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Southeast Missouri play with a ball together. The organization is one of 13 Boys and Girls Clubs in the state of Missouri.Photo by Aaron Eisenhauer

Marshall and two other Boys and Girls Clubs youths, Ele’ Newson and Kim’Mijah Bruster, have used their leadership skills to start a “calm down” group where they de-stress by playing music, breathing and writing in their journals.

“The staff is nice, and they teach you a lot about good attitudes,” Newson says of her experience at Boys and Girls Clubs.

Looking ahead at the organization’s holiday events, Treece says the first gathering from 8 a.m. to Noon is free and open to the public, thanks to their title sponsor, First State Community Bank. The family-focused event will include a variety of stations where children can make Christmas cards for nursing home residents, attend storytimes and get their pictures taken with Santa.

“[We want to] give a chance for parents to get out early, bring their kids [and] do something as a family together,” Treece says.

Members of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Southeast Missouri talk together at an after-school program. The organization provides opportunities for students to develop good character and healthy lifestyles, and students can utilize the leadership skills they learn by starting their own programs for their peers at the meetings.Photo by Aaron Eisenhauer

Transitioning into their second event of the day, Treece says they will continue the holiday theme but focus on donors and friends of Boys and Girls Clubs. The evening event, beginning at 6 p.m. and running until 11 p.m., will offer an opportunity for donors and supporters to socialize in a festive environment. Live music will play throughout the evening as attendees enjoy food provided and participate in silent and live auctions.

Although the event is a fundraiser, Treece has not attached any fundraising goal to the gathering and instead hopes to give community members a chance to learn more about the club and the positive impact it is having on area youths.

“[The goal is to] get some people there and have a chance to talk to them about the club,” Treece says. “We want to let them know why it’s important, what we do and how they can help.”

Boys and Girls Clubs of Southeast Missouri wants to highlight the success stories of their students, such as 11-year-old Paris Long attending Cape Girardeau’s after-school program. Long says she’s found a lot of ways to have fun, play and de-stress at the club. When Long grows up, she wants to be a veterinarian, singer or work at Boys and Girls Clubs.

“The future is going to have amazing activities for the kids to do,” Long says, and the organization’s morning event Dec. 11 will certainly have multiple “amazing activities” for children and families.

“More than anything, with both events, we want it to be a great time and a chance for people to get out into the community and hopefully feel like things are getting back to normal,” Treece says.

Corporate tables and individual tickets for the evening event are available for purchase on Boys and Girls Clubs of Southeast Missouri’s website. For more information on the organization and their holiday events, visit https://www.bgcsemo.org or the organization’s Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/bgcsemo.