Community Partners
The Boys & Girls Club of Boone County provides a safe place to play, laugh, discover and learn for youth ages 5-18. Caring, trained staff and volunteers work with our members in supervised, safe and structured environments to build new skills and help them succeed. Our goal is to achieve positive outcomes in our three areas of emphasis: Academic Success, Healthy Lifestyles and Civic Engagement.
Our members have an opportunity to participate in all kinds of programs ranging from Smart Girls to Torch Club to intramural sports and everything in between!
Gleaners was founded in 1980 by a group of concerned citizens who felt strongly that no one should go hungry. Since that time, we have distributed more than 520 million pounds of food and critical grocery through a committed network of more than 550 food pantries, soup kitchens, schools, and community partners.
In addition to food distribution to hunger relief agencies throughout our 21-county service area, Gleaners also operates Fresh Connect Central, one of 7 regional produce cooperatives for Feeding America, the nation’s largest hunger relief organization. In addition, we are a disaster relief staging site for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the contract reclamation site for Kroger Central Division.
First Tee began in 1997 as a partnership among the LPGA, the Masters Tournament, the PGA of America, the PGA TOUR, and the USGA to make golf affordable and accessible for all kids. As they introduced the game, they also introduced a life skills curriculum that supported the development of values found within the game of golf, including honesty, integrity, perseverance and respect. This was a game changer – for the kids, and for the organization. Now, for over two decades they have been committed to helping kids build character strengths and important life skills through the game and providing all kids with access to opportunities for personal growth in a fun and safe environment. While First Tee began on golf courses, they expanded by bringing programs to physical education classes across the country through in-school and after-school programs.
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) was born out of a family's grief following the death of their teenage son.
Robert "Robbie" Roesler de Villiers, son of a well-to-do New York family, was only 16 when he quickly succumbed to leukemia in 1944. Five years later, frustrated by the lack of effective treatments for what was then considered a hopeless disease, parents Rudolph and Antoinette de Villiers started a fundraising and education organization in their son's name.
Headquartered in a small Wall Street office, the Robert Roesler de Villiers Foundation had only a few volunteers and a tiny budget. The task was daunting.