Hi Friends,

I am running the 2015 Boston Marathon this upcoming April and couldn't be more excited! I will be running with the South Boston Boys and Girls Club (BGCB), a wonderful organization that provides local area children with enriching developmental programs and continuous adult support and mentorship. I would greatly appreciate your assistance in helping me reach (and hopefully break!) my fundraising goal. 

Running has become a major part of my life in recent years, and my ultimate dream since becoming a serious runner has been to participate in the Boston Marathon. I am beyond thrilled to be fulfilling this dream in April, and want all of you to be a part of this journey with me. I'll be running in honor of my Mom, who passed away 13 years ago from cancer. She was my biggest supporter in all I did, and I know I'll be making her proud as I conquer Heartbreak Hill on race day. 

Please read below for more info on BGCB. They are making a difference in the lives of so many Boston youth, and the light deserves to be shined on them. 

Thanks so much for your love and support! Hoping to make you all proud on April 20th, 2015. 

Best,

Blair

Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston wrote -

GREAT FUTURES START HERE.

The South Boston Boys & Girls Club Marathon Team will support the Southie Club’s proven and critical youth development programs. The “Club” has been serving the community on the corner of West 6th and F Streets since 1940.

Training for a marathon for months, then running 26.2 miles, is a difficult and daunting challenge.

Being a kid these days is difficult, being a teen is daunting..

Being a young person in the city, making positive choices in a negative environment, is a challenge.

So we run for them.

The South Boston Club serves over 535 diverse youth ages 6-18 on a regular basis, with 220-250 attending daily. 29% of our kids are from families with less than $13,000 annual household income; 27% from the $13,000-27,000 range; and 16% from families above $43,000. Our members are exceptionally diverse, socioeconomically and culturally, and attend 75 different schools. Only 36% of our members live with both parents. Our daily focus is on developing positive self-identity and key skills.

IT WORKS
The Boys & Girls Clubs of America completed a Three-Year Longitudinal Study that demonstrates the very real impact Clubs have. This study was professionally administered and found that kids who attend Boys & Girls Clubs experience increased Academic Confidence, School Effort, Future Plans, and Knowledge of Right vs. Wrong. They also experienced decreased Skipping of School, Associating with Negative Peers, Aggressive Behavior, Early Pregnancies, and Contact with Weapons, Alcohol, Smoking, or Drugs.


In 2013:
•100% of 70 parents surveyed said “The Club has a positive impact on my child”.
•Members feel considerably safer at the Club than they do at school, in their neighborhood, or on public transportation.
•99% of members report that “Club Staff Care About Me”; for 15-18 year-olds the response was 100%.
•96% of members “Plan to Go to College”; 100% of 15-18 year-olds “Expect to Graduate from High School”.
•93% of members replied Always True, 7% Sometimes True and 0% Never to the statement “It is Important for Me to Stay in School”.
•50 members in grades 1-4 enrolled in a core literacy program with partner Generations Incorporated. Pre- and post-Basic Reading Inventory testing showed an average improvement of 1.63. The percent of students on or above grade level advanced from 37% pre-tutoring to 89% post-tutoring.
•90% say “The Club Has Helped Me Get Along With People Who Are Different From Me”.
•97% of 10-11 year-olds “like Meeting and Getting to Know People of Other Races”.
•39,561 Free nutritious meals and 34,040 healthy snacks were served in a 12-month period.

Running a marathon is no easy feat.

Being a kid in urban Boston is not easy.

So we run for them.

To Donate, click on your runner on The Team below, or click on the Donate buton above. To make an offline donation, send a check to South Boston Boys & Girls Clubs, 230 West 6th Street, South Boston, MA 02127. Please note "Marathon" and the runner's name (or team) in the memo line.

Questions/Comments? !
Harry Duvall
hduvall@bgcb.org
617.516.5441