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BGCCF Update | April 17, 2020
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Dear Friends,
In the midst of a crisis, it’s easy to get buried in day-to-day struggles and hyper-focus on the near term. For Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Florida, the COVID pandemic has forced us to come up new, hopefully short-term, ways to meet the needs of our Club families while our facilities are closed, through virtual programming, reach-out calls, and weekly food deliveries.
But an email I received this week reminded me to never lose focus of the longer view.
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Andy Oguntola was a member of our Osceola Club – now our Tupperware Brands Branch – from 1996 to 2002. To hear him tell it, the difficulties he faced in his childhood left him in danger of becoming yet another statistic. “My parents were immigrants from Nigeria, and had 5 children. They wanted the best for us—
my mom stayed at home and my dad was a bellman at a Disney hotel—but there was never any money.” Andy got used to hearing “we can’t afford it,” when he asked to participate in sports leagues, or to go places and experience things his friends talked about.
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So Andy and his parents were delighted to find the Boys & Girls Club, where he could be enrolled in sports programs and enrichment opportunities, for little to no cost to the family. More importantly, it was at the Club where Andy met his role model, Service Director John Lane.
“John was the
man
. He changed my whole outlook. Not only did he teach me football and basketball, he really built my confidence. He gave me an advantage that set me up for life,” Andy recalls lovingly.
After high school, Andy went on to play college football at on scholarship at Webber University, earn his MBA, and then a doctorate in higher education. He became the youngest ever Director of Admissions at Valencia College, where he oversaw admissions for 5 campuses, and now heads up the Lake Wales Campus of Polk State College. He and his wife have three children, whom he’s raising to feel the obligation of paying it forward. Last year, his family sat in the front row when Andy was presented with the Lake Wales Community Leadership Award, recognizing his service as the founder of the Start Right campaign and a youth football league for disadvantaged youth.
Dr. Andy Oguntola puts it simply: “If it wasn’t for my Boys & Girls Club staff, I wouldn’t be where I am today.”
Friends, at Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Florida, these are trying times, but we’re taking a long view. This period of uncertainty will pass—
maybe not as quickly as we’d like it to—but we will keep finding innovative ways to connect to our children, to provide the continuity of care and nurturing that our Club members deserve. Of the 16,000+ children in our network, we see a sea of potential—each child with the promise of a young Andy Orguntola, capable of personal fulfillment, professional achievement, and community service.
Thank you for the faith you have in us, and in the children we serve.
Warm regards,
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Gary Cain
President & CEO
Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Florida
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Deepest gratitude to the following generous donors who have already joined our Club Heroes campaign. You are ensuring that our organization, and our families, stay strong through this crisis, and that we will emerge with renewed purpose to create great futures for our Club members!
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Phillip & Jennifer Anderson
Atlantic Culvert Company, Inc.
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The Cocoa Rotary Foundation, Inc.
Ray & Lydia DiSanza
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Brian Baker
Chepenik Financial
The Duke Energy Foundation
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David & Lyn Berelsman
Tom & Ann Brooks
Keith & Lila Buescher
James & Allison Clark
Les & Jill Eiserman
Equity Partners, Inc.
Jim & Jennifer Etscorn
FAME Group, Inc.
Robert & Mary Frantz
Graff Holdings
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Kelly Family Cuidiu Foundation
Paul & Stacey Manos
Nextera Energy Foundation, Inc
OUC- The Reliable One
Renaissance Charitable Foundation
Shutts & Bowen LLP
Sidhu Family Foundation Inc.
SIMS Crane & Equipment Co.
The Villages Theater Company
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Steven & Jean Allender
Allender & Allender, P.A.
Jennifer Ashton
Camelot Properties Referral Group, LLC
Phillip C. DeLong
Duke Energy Florida, LLC
Dr. Steven & Suzanne Dukes
Kevin R. Hill & Nicholas F. Farinella
Allison Krueger
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Les Choux Company
Drew & Paula Madsen
Cheryl Mall
William & Rebecca Manuel
Mike & Marybeth Morsberger
Christopher Pirolo
Star Distributions Systems
Wilhelm Construction
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Charla Albury
Christyne Albury
Steve & Jean Allender
Jennifer Ashton
Brasfield & Gorrie LLC
Robert & Caroline Buster
Chad & Elizabeth Cain
CCH Marketing & Events, Inc.
Amber Clore
D1 Orlando
Clara Ewing
Mark & Maureen Filburn
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James & Jean Gallagher
David Hicks
Russ Hill
Sue Hoeksema
International Title and Escrow Co, LLC
Sarah Johnston
Garrett & Laura Jones
Diane & John Mahony
Charles & Shanda Redding
Steven & Jennifer Sabga
Fiona Shannon
Phillip Smith
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About Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Florida
The mission of Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Florida is to inspire and enable all young people, especially those from disadvantaged circumstances, to realize their full potential as productive, responsible and caring citizens. At our 36 Clubs, we provide a safe and nurturing Club experience every day after school, and all summer long, for more than 16,000 children.
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