The Boys & Girls Club of Boone County has announced plans for a new, casual fundraising event to support the club’s operating budget and transportation serices.
The inaugural Denim & Diamonds, a socially distanced indoor/outdoor event featuring tex-mex dishes, hand-crafted beverages and entertainment, is scheduled for 6:30 to 10 p.m. April 2 at 7201 S. 755 E., Zionsville.
The event’s “denim price” is $100 per ticket, and its “diamond price” is $150, which includes access to an open bar, reserved seating, a raffle ticket for the Diamond Dig and a specialty gift. Sales are limited to 120 tickets. To purchase tickets, visit bgcboone.org/events.
The goal for Denim & Diamonds is to raise $50,000, half of which would be used to repair or replace the club’s four buses and half of which will go to the club’s general operating budget.
“We wanted to have an event that was casual and not a gala where you had to get dressed up but was still a fun, interactive, adult event,” Boys & Girls Club of Boone County Chief Development Officer Katie Reasoner said. “With the pandemic, we were going to have to keep our numbers low, and we even for a while thought we were going to have to have a virtual option.
“Thankfully, it looks like (COVID-19) numbers are trending in the right direction.”
A committee is acquiring items for a silent auction. Donations can be made by contacting Krista Arland at [email protected]. Auction mobile bidding through One Cause will be available for the community in addition to event attendees.
The Boys & Girls Club of Boone County has held the Be GREAT Breakfast for the last four years to honor the Youth of the Year and raise awareness and funding for the organization. Reasoner said the club reevaluates its annual events every few years and decided on a new format for 2021.
Reasoner said 62 percent of the club’s $1.69 million budget comes from individual donors, special events, corporate sponsorship and grants. When she was hired three years ago, 48 percent of the club’s budget came from such fundraising efforts. She said the pandemic likely exacerbated the club’s reliance on donations and fundraising events.
“We aren’t able to service as many kids because of social-distancing guidelines,” Reasoner said. “Instead of (the) 450 kids we typically have pre-pandemic, we are down to (fewer than) 200 kids that we can serve, so a lot of this is making up the operating budget that we typically would make off of our memberships and morning fees, and our sports numbers are down. We are trying to fill that gap.”
Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield and State Bank are the event’s sponsors. Additional sponsorship opportunities are available. For more, contact Reasoner at [email protected].
