Boys & Girls Club members hope to find safe “Harbour” with support of May 6 Margaritaville Fundraiser

On Sunday, May 6 from 5:00pm to 8:00pm, Jimmy Buffett’s 500 Duval Street Margaritaville hosts the 16th Annual “One Particular Harbour” fundraiser to benefit The Boys & Girls Club of the Keys Area, a youth development program that provides after-school care and full-time care during school holidays, professional development days, and summer vacation for more than 450 children ages 5 to 18 in Key West and Big Pine Key.

The lively event features music by Howard Livingston and his Mile Marker 24 Band, appetizers, libations, and a buffet dinner, a silent and live auction, a “giving tree,” and a 50/50 raffle.  Auction items include a Captain Outrageous bicycle, artwork, gift certificates from local restaurants, attractions, businesses, and more.

The Margaritaville fundraiser was initiated in 2003 by Kevin Boucher, former board member and business partner of Margaritaville Café, to help the Club raise money for its summer program; the event has since raised over $255,000 to support their many programs, which include tutoring, literacy support, STEM initiatives, computers, sports and recreation, Spanish, dance, drama and photography lessons, health and wellness life skills, and field trips. This year’s funds will be allocated to the Bayview Park capital campaign that supports renovations needed to make the building their permanent home.

“The Club means something different to every child who comes through our doors,” says Executive Director Dan Dombroski. “We are a helping hand, a trusted mentor, a place to finish your homework, learn new skills and play.  We do this by providing a safe environment for our island’s children.”

Dombroski and his staff and board of directors hope that the safe environment will soon be at the Bayview Park location near Horace O’Bryant school, where the majority of the Club’s members attend, and where they were once housed.  The Club outgrew the leaky building that lacked air conditioning and proper facilities for food preparation, bathrooms administrative offices and moved to the Reynolds school in 2014.

The Key West Club’s current lease at the Reynolds school expires August 2019, when the Monroe County School Board-owned building begins renovations for new use.

They have already moved five times over the last 15 years.

“Living on an island can be challenging, especially for the young people of our community,” says Dombroski.  “For many of our Club members we are the first “responders” in their lives, providing them a safe place to be while their parents or guardians are at work.

“With the support of the Keys community, we can achieve our goal of providing a permanent, safe, and stable environment for the children of the Keys,” says Dombroski.

$50 tickets are available at www.keystix.com or by calling 305.296.2258, tickets at door are $60.  Visit boysandgirlsclubsofthekeysareainc.org for more information. The Boys & Girls Club of the Keys Area.  Helping kids succeed since 1996.

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