Philanthropy Today
Philanthropy Today
Boys & Girls Club of Manhattan on the GMCF Community Hour Episode - 195
The Boys and Girls Club of Manhattan prepares for its 26th annual Casino Night fundraiser on April 4th at the K-State Alumni Center, featuring a prom theme and introducing their first-ever dance floor to the event.
• Now operating in 13 locations across Ogden, Manhattan, and Wamego
• Early Learning Center serves over 80 infants and toddlers with room to grow
• New dedicated Teen Center fulfills 30-year dream, serving over 30 teens daily
• Casino Night fundraiser proceeds ensure program access for all families regardless of ability to pay
• Live auction includes game day package with Gene Taylor, Cancun vacation, and private game show experience
• Silent auction features Bobby Witt Jr. signed jersey, Chef fast pass, and various sports memorabilia
• Steel and Pipe Supply returns as presenting sponsor alongside Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation
• Tickets available at bgclubmanhattan.com with discounts for full table purchases
Join us on Friday, April 4th at the K-State Alumni Center for a night of gaming, auctions, and dancing while supporting life-changing programs for local youth. Get your tickets now before they sell out!
Philanthropy Today is brought to you by the Greater Manhattan Community Foundation. In this episode we feature a recently broadcast segment of the GMCF Community Hour, as heard on NewsRadio KMAN. Here we are with the GMCF Community Hour on NewsRadio KMAN. Brady Armstrong has been with the Boys and Girls Club for a few years now. He is the chief development officer. Welcome back to the show. Thank you for having me. You've got a big deal coming up for a few years now. He is the Chief Development Officer. Welcome back to the show. Thank you for having me. You've got a big deal coming up in a couple of weeks.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we've got our 26th annual Casino Night fundraiser, so Casino Night is our biggest fundraiser of the year, as you well know. It's a great time of year to see everybody and to raise some money for kids in the community.
Speaker 1:Yeah, well, before we get talking, a little bit more about the specifics of the Casino Night, what's new at the Boys and Girls Club this year?
Speaker 2:Yeah, we are busy, as always. We're in 13 locations now, serving across Ogden, Manhattan and Wamego. We've got our Early Learning Center and our Teen Center are both up and running and growing, seems like every week we got over 80 kids out at the early learning center and over 30 teens coming every day, so it's been an exciting time was it just last year.
Speaker 1:We opened the alert.
Speaker 2:The early it was uh last summer, so a little over a year ago 80 kids yeah, um, infants through toddlers, and it continues to grow. We've got space to add more. Even so, if you're looking for childcare, come see us.
Speaker 1:Okay, well, that's been a wonderful asset, and tell us a little bit more about the teen center.
Speaker 2:Yeah, the teen center has been great. So for years, for almost our entire 30 years of serving kids, we'd had a dream of opening a teen center. They had been out staying at their middle schools for most of that time. So we were in a great teen program but it was smaller than we would have liked, especially at that age. I think the kids really want their own space. They want somewhere where they can go and kind of build their community outside of school. So we were thrilled last year and kind of build their community outside of school. So we were thrilled last year, once we had opened up in all of the elementary schools, we were able to convert our Fifth Street building into its own standalone teen center and it's been going great over there so far. Mr Anthony is doing a great job with those kids.
Speaker 1:All right. Well, a lot of good things happening with the Boys and Girls Club. I mean, there's always been a neat lineage of events, always something new, responding to the needs of the community, especially, I think, you know, the early learning center was one that probably stands out in my mind, at least as far as you know. Trying to answer a call, and you continue to do that. Trying to answer a call, and you continue to do that. Now you are still in somewhat of a growth slash, expansion mode because here again, responding to the call and the need, and that brings out the importance of the casino night, which I've seen that grow. Yeah, yeah, I'm sure, and I'm pretty proud of the fact that I've been a part of every one of those 26 years.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's exciting. 26 years, see, and you were like four when we first started.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I wasn't. I didn't make it to the first few, but I've been having fun these last couple years.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but it started here at this building, the Colony Square building, down here at 15 points, and you know, and then it just you know, has expanded and this year we are back at the K-State Alumni Center. I'm excited about that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think it'll be a lot of fun. It's a great facility and we've got some new stuff this year. We're trying out that. I think the Alumni Center will be great for.
Speaker 1:Okay, so can you tell us anything about the news? It's going to be a surprise.
Speaker 2:No, I can tell you right now. So we always have a fun theme for Casino Night and this year we picked prom Prom. It's right around prom time, so we thought you can either relive or redo your prom, depending on how it went the first time. But we're adding for the first time, I think, a dance floor as well, so we'll have a little bit of a party at the end. It is the first time. Okay, yes, I thought so.
Speaker 1:It is the first time which I'm excited about being a part of that aspect too, because I get to emcee it and there's some technical aspects that I assist with too, and now I get to spend some Babaloos for you. Yeah, I think that's going to be a lot of fun. Have you ever heard the term Babaloos? I haven't, yeah, yeah. Yeah, see, this goes back a long ways, as do I, but I'm looking forward to that. So, a prom theme we have. Do we have a time frame with the prom music? You know, some of us, you know, went to prom back in the 70s.
Speaker 2:Yeah, some of us will be there in the 60s I uh, I didn't want to put a decade on it. It's whatever you feel, if you want to do your modern prom or you want to throw it back to your when you went, whether that was, uh, the 80s and 90s or even earlier. But, um, hopefully everyone will kind of dress up and come and dance with us and raise some money for a great cause. I gotta find something new to wear. Yeah, do we have a color theme? Um, so the colors this year are kind of some blues, silvers and whites, kind of going along with our bgc colors as well, which I think is a nice fit all right, sounds good.
Speaker 1:So let's kind of go through some of the activities of the casino night. Because you got, you bring the casino games in. People start playing. So at the alumni center, tickets are available tickets are available now.
Speaker 2:Yep, um, you can check out our facebook page BG Club Manhattan or just go straight to our website bgclubmanhattancom. Okay, All right.
Speaker 1:And doors open at Doors are at 6 o'clock. Okay, there will be games, there will be drinks, there will be food. There will be a live auction. Yes, Silent auction too.
Speaker 2:Yeah, both, we got both auctions. So, yeah, doors will be at 6. We'll have a couple hours of kind of a cocktail hour and we'll have the gaming tables open. We'll have a few blackjack tables, some roulette and craps as well, time for folks to mingle and get to see everybody, and then we will also have the live auction and the silent auction going on as well, I think one of the things I like about this is this is just really a neat community event that has just developed.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and it is a very. It is a fundraiser We'd never take away from that, but it is a wonderful social event because people just it's, it's a great gathering.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think that's one of my favorite parts as well, is that? Uh, it does. It raises money and goes straight to a great cause here in our community. But it's also become um a great event for folks to see each other at and to kind of check in on friends and on what's going on with the club.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and and it's tough for me because I never know who I'm going to sit with oh yeah, because you know there's some people have standards.
Speaker 2:Well, I'm sure we'll find you a spot. We'll find a seat for me, a cocktail table.
Speaker 1:So so let's talk about uh, what needs you're going to be funding with the proceeds from the casino night?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think, um, one of our main missions since we opened has been access. We always we take pride in making our programs available to all families in our community at low or no cost. However, it is not low or no cost to create these programs and to hire our great staff and to get the supplies and give the kids the experiences they deserve. So a lot of what this funding goes towards is getting kids access to our programs and scholarshiping their fees and making sure no one is unable to attend due to inability to pay, pay, and there'll be several different ways that we're going to be raising money for this.
Speaker 1:Once again, this is April 4th, april 4th. We haven't even mentioned that yet, have we? No, we should get that in.
Speaker 2:That's important to know Next Friday, april 4th, that's a week and a half away.
Speaker 1:I know it's coming up, wow, and you still have some tickets available. Yes, we do Good to know, good to know, and one of the things also that is important about these things is the fact that you have a wide combination of opportunities for people to give. There's the sponsorships. You've got a lot of people that come in and help support the whole activity from its get-go. Do you have some key?
Speaker 2:people involved there. Yeah, we have great sponsors every year. This year again, steel and Pipe Supply is our presenting sponsor. They've been a great supporter for our entire 30 years, going back to Dennis Mullen helping found the club, and then a number of people throughout the the years matt crocker uh tyler dave line is on our board now. It's been exciting to get to work with him. So steel and pipe is an amazing partner. Uh, prairie band, pottawatomie nation, is another uh great sponsor who's been around for quite a while. Um, and then some uh other uh local amazing companies the trust company, cox communications, um, a lot of great folks hoping to put this on.
Speaker 1:And it is a celebration of community, and I think that that's one of the things I enjoy about this event so much, because it is just got such a good vibe, yeah, all the way through, from the beginning to the end and then thereafter. What are some of the exciting things you got up on the auction?
Speaker 2:Yeah, the auction has some exciting stuff this year some old favorites and some new things. One I always think is a very cool and unique experience is a game day package with Gene Taylor. You can get to go spend game day with him and watch the game and sit in his box. We have a vacation to Cancun, mexico, this year that we're excited about, um, and a new item I just found out about last week uh, you'll be able to. If you're enjoying the mc stylings of dave lewis. You can bid on a uh, a game show in your home, which I think is cool.
Speaker 1:People will be excited about yeah, are you gonna put that on the live? I think so. Yeah, cool yeah. And there are a lot of people that are familiar with the work that I do.
Speaker 1:I have been for the last 20 some years doing game shows for all kinds of different types of events and I kind of created a little thing because I'd had some people ask me about you know, hey, can you do something in our house? And it's just basically, you know, I come in, plug into your big TV and you know, it's just fun entertainment, great for kids parties. I can scale it down to I can. It could be all adults, it could be all kids, but I'll tell you what. Some of the adult content is not appropriate for kids. But but I'm I'm excited to be able to provide that for you and I think a lot of that has to do with the history that Boys and Girls Club has trusted in me to be a part of this event forever, and there were some tough times because I remember my wife passed away in January of 06.
Speaker 1:The first event I did after that was the Casino Night. It was up at Houston Street Ballroom and we introduced Ron Prince and Bill Snyder and they're during the stage at the same time and that was a big deal when, when Prince first came in his first public appearance because he had just been hired, and and so you know there's. But I just remember Coach Snyder coming up and talking to me and and extending his sympathies and concerns and and and hopes, and that is a memory that I have that I would not have had if it weren't for the Boys and Girls Club. But but then again, you know, it's just like's. Just like that one was meaningful, powerful at the time. But I've had so much fun doing these things in the past. Good to work with Jeff Ruckert again. He's always fun to include. We've got a pretty good rapport together.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you guys have quite the back and forth and you've got a bunch of silent auction items too. Yeah, we have lots of exciting stuff on there. Silent auction items too. Yeah, we have uh lots of exciting stuff on there. Um, one that's always a favorite of mine is you. Uh, we got a pass to skip the line at the chef. So if you're uh on a sunday morning and you want to go to brunch and you just don't want to wait in line, rachel and chad have provided us with a fast pass to to get to the front. Um, we always have some partners. Yeah, they're awesome. Um, rachel serves on our board. She does a great job. We've always got lots of exciting sports memorabilia. We just got a Bobby Witt signed jersey. Really, yeah, I think people will be excited about that one. Oh, is that on the silent auction? We've got that one on the silent right now. I've got some other memorabilia for the live auction.
Speaker 1:Well, you get that now. That's an investment.
Speaker 2:Yes, and these will go live here pretty soon, probably later this week. So if you want to start checking it out before the event, you can go in and get your bids.
Speaker 1:BeautyClubManhattancom. Yep, okay, all right, we talked about a bunch of stuff. Get your tickets if you haven't done so already. You're probably getting down to the point where you don't have a whole lot left.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we've got a little bit of room, but the tables are starting to fill up, so if you want to get your tickets, you can get them now. There is a discount count as well to do a full table if you want to bring your friends. So check out the website and get your tickets soon.
Speaker 1:Sounds good, brady. I'm looking forward to it. Thanks for requesting me to be a part of it.
Speaker 2:We're going to have a bunch of fun. Yeah, we will. Uh, mc emeritus, I think, was the term you coined.
Speaker 1:Well, you know, I I had used that once and, and then somebody said but but emeritus means you've retired. Okay, yeah, We'll have to. I'm not retired, so don't know. We'll have to open up the SARS and see what we can find out. Yeah, I'm a little preoccupied today with the CFAs, I know.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we're trying to be there.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, and there's going to be a nice representation, yeah, so we're looking forward to everybody being there. Brady, always good to have you in. Thank you so much. Brady Armstrong is the chief development officer for the Boys and Girls Club of Manhattan. Bgclubmanhattancom is where you can get tickets for their 26th annual casino night and that is on April 4th at the K-State Alumni Center. Donja McDonald is a co-executive director of Morningstar. We'll learn a little bit more about them. She's always fun to visit with and she's got quite a story and I always love hearing it. It's a great story of recovery and moving forward in life and we'll have her coming in on the next segment on the GMC.