Who says a Boys Night Out is nothing but trouble?
In Thunder Bay each spring, it actually does a lot of good – $20,000 worth of good in 2012. For the past couple of years a group of philanthropy-minded men have staged a fundraising event in support of children’s charity.
Val Glymitsas, a committee member on the Boys Night Out event, said the event is a great way to help support the city’s youth, in particular this year the Boys and Girls Club of Thunder Bay, a recipient Thursday of a $10,000 cheque.
The group is in the process of starting the DGL Charity Foundation to ensure the work continues well into the future.
“A lot of people were asking us for support and asking us to meet their needs,” Glymitsas said. “We picked a children’s youth organization, like the Boys and Girls Club, like the Easter Seals and like Ronald McDonald House.
“So we’re going that route. We figured the best way to do it was to create a foundation and hoping to do more events like this and give money back to the community.”
The excitement of the dozens of children laughing and playing at the Boys and Girls Club of Thunder Bay on Thursday was all the proof the organizers of the Boys Night Out needed to know their money was going to be well spent.
“All of us are at that stage where kids are important,” Glymitsas said.”
“We see them as the future, so we want the community to get better and brighter. We’ve got to look at our youth. We’re not necessarily saying it’s always going to be one club, but we are looking at Boys and Girls Club as a partner of ours because they have the type of demographics we’re looking for.”
Danny DeCosta of Mississauga’s Intact Insurance said his company is supporting the local efforts of Youngs Insurance, partners in the soon-to-be-started DGL Charity Foundation, a group that also includes the Power Centre Samsung, McDonald’s, Molson Coors Canada, First General Services, Whitewater Golf Course, Fort William Historical Park, Pinewood Ford and Scotiabank.
DeCosta said the Intact Foundation has a mandate to give back to the communities where they do business.
“This money is going to go to great use and looking at the faces in the facility today, we definitely feel confident that it’s going to some great programs.”