Katie’s 20 Days of Giving Challenge
Katie’s Challenge 2022!
Meet Katie Daykin, amazing Club kid and community leader at the ripe young age of 13! In the summer of 2020, Katie wanted to find a way to help her beloved Boys & Girls Club reopen after being shut down due to the financial strain of the pandemic. One afternoon, Executive Director Michelle Belleza found a handwritten card wedged between the front doors, with a $20 donation inside. “I decided to donate $20 from the soda cans we used,’ the note said. Michelle called Katie and her parents to say thank you. Katie explained she pooled some of her allowance along with the deposits she got from returning cans and bottles to help reopen the Club. To say we were moved is an understatement. To know a child would not only give up her allowance, but also use her time to collect cans and bottles to redeem to support her beloved Club was humbling, to say the least. We, the adults who lead the Club, the staff and Board of Directors, knew that if she could do something to make a difference, we all could. Katie’s 20 Days of Giving Challenge was launched, and with a LOT of help from Katie, we were able to turn her $20 donation into $2,000 for her Club that summer.
The next summer, Katie set a goal to raise $2,500. And in doing so, Katie inspired even more people–and businesses–to join the charge. Herlihy Insurance Group of Worcester matched the $2,500, and another anonymous donor was so moved he matched the TOTAL she raised ($5,689.10) bringing her grand total to ELEVEN THOUSAND,THREE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY EIGHT DOLLARS AND TWENTY CENTS!
When we asked Katie what her fundraising goal for this year is, she answered “We need new furniture. Especially couches.” Our Club has been the fortunate recipient of LOTS of donated furniture, but as we continue to grow, Katie is right–it’s time to invest in durable, long-lasting furniture suitable for the wear and tear of a teen center. This is costly, but an investment that will outlast anything we could get donated! We are looking to raise $10,000 this year so Katie can help refurnish the Club!
Katie takes advantage of ALL the Club has to offer, after-school and throughout the summer, and she has done so since the first day she walked through our doors. Your support means she, and kids just like her, can get homework help, have healthy active fun with peers, explore new interests like art and cooking and drama, and so much more. As these kids recover from the social losses the pandemic created, we are here to help them in any way we can. This is why YOU, and your support, is so critical. We couldn’t do any of this without you. Please consider donating your cans and bottles between Saturday, August 20th and Friday, September 9th. Cans and bottles can be left on the porch at the Boys & Girls Club. Donations can also be made here.