Club asks supporters to Stand Up for Kids





PRIZE PUP—Event volunteer Jade Boyce shows off a Labrador retriever puppy that was auctioned for $5,000 at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Conejo Valley fundraiser on Oct. 18. More than 500 people attended the black tie affair that raised money for children’s programming.

PRIZE PUP—Event volunteer Jade Boyce shows off a Labrador retriever puppy that was auctioned for $5,000 at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Conejo Valley fundraiser on Oct. 18. More than 500 people attended the black tie affair that raised money for children’s programming.

More than 3,600 children attend the six Boys & Girls Clubs from Calabasas to Thousand Oaks, but not a single child can enjoy the organization’s programs and activities without the support of a giving community.

At the 12th annual Stand For Kids fundraiser Oct. 18 at the Four Seasons Hotel in Westlake Village, volunteers and guests donated their time and money to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Conejo Valley.

More than 500 people attended the reception, dinner and auction.

It was a black tie affair.

Morton Capital Magagement served as the event co-sponsor along with the Dr. Richard Grossman Community Foundation.

In 2014, Lon and Rocky Morton made pledges and payments of more than $500,000 to the clubs. The Grossman foundation contributed a grant of $100,000, which supported a homework assistance program.

Grossman, a reconstructive and plastic surgeon who founded the Grossman Burn Center in Sherman Oaks in 1969, died at his home in Hidden Valley last March. He was 81.

“He led a life of service that in my experience was unsurpassed,” said his wife, Elizabeth, who accepted an honorary award on behalf of her late husband.

“He was a great supporter of our community and of the Boys & Girls Clubs,” she said.

Marilyn Bencar, who has served as the clubs’ secretary at the organization’s inception in 2001, was named winner of the 2014 Cal Johnston Service Award. Johnston founded the local Conejo Valley chapter.

The clubs also named their Youth of The Year winners.

Liam Lecka, winner in the 14-and-older category, is 16 years old and goes to Newbury Park High School.

“The clubs welcomed me with open arms and became my second home,” said Liam, a successful student who became member of the NPHS Associated Student Body.

Winner in the 13-and-under category is Danielle Conner, a 12-year-old Boys & Girls Clubs member who attends Los Cerritos Middle School.

Gala piano solos were provided by Brendon Gong, a seventhgrader at Sequoia Middle School, and David Huang, a Boys & Girls alumnus and musical prodigy who is now a senior at Westlake High School.

On stage performances were given by the Los Cerritos Choir and the Boys & Girls Clubs Glee Club.

Westlake Village resident Jim Cathcart served as the evening’s master of ceremonies.

Club locations are at Los Cerritos, Colina, Redwood and Sequoia middle schools in Thousand Oaks as well as Chaparral Elementary School in Calabasas and Lindero Canyon Middle School in Agoura Hills.

The Chaparral site has doubled in size and now serves more than 400 kids, said Boys & Girls Clubs president and chief executive Mark Elswick.

“As Cal Johnston use to say, children are 30 percent of the population and 100 percent of the future,” Elswick said.

As the organization grows, a new building was also added at the Lindero Canyon site.

The Boys & Girls Clubs serve children ages 3 through 15 and are open before and after schools from 7 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. They also offer weekend sports leagues and a 10-week summer camp.

Visit www.bgcconejo.org.


GALA NIGHT— Above, Boys & Girls Clubs member Danielle Conner, 12, is named Youth of the Year for the 13-and-under category. Left, Marilyn Bencar  accepts the 2014 Cal Johnston Service Award.

GALA NIGHT— Above, Boys & Girls Clubs member Danielle Conner, 12, is named Youth of the Year for the 13-and-under category. Left, Marilyn Bencar accepts the 2014 Cal Johnston Service Award.

 

 

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