A peek inside this issue:

Youth of the Year

Lowe’s Celebration

Twin Falls Capital Campaign

Interview with Lisa Paulos

Winter 2019 Newsletter

Rex Lytle

Brian Bolton

Lisa Paulos

Bill Koch

Steve Kaatz

Scott Plew

Steve York

Jay Dodds

Rod Doig

Jeff Blick

Tracy Hulse

Dave Thibault

Anna Scholes

Darren Kyle

Tug Worst

Mandi Riddle

Brady Dickinson

Inga Elkin

Rich Stivers

Afton Patrick

Jason Vickrey

Jed Roeser

Breanna Howard

Jeff Frost

Rick White Jr.

Mike McBride

Mark Doerr

Board of Directors

Emeritus: Rick White Dan Willie

Gregg Middlekauff President

Administrative Staff

Lindsey Westburg Executive Director

Bri Owen Director of Operations

Rashell Eskelsen Resource Development Director

Misty Greco Business Manager

Garren Moreno Program Director

Katie Bulcher Knetic Director

Amarae Williams Buhl Unit Director

Rachel Monroy Teen Director

Emily Kuka Assistant Program Director

Chris Joyce Rupert Unit Director

Pam Frampton 21st CCLC Program Director

A note from the

executive director…

Dear Supporter,

Happy New Year and welcome to 2019! We have so many things to be grateful for as we begin a new year. 2018 brought the Club plenty of excitement! We proudly opened the doors to a Club in Rupert in June. We also received notification that we would be receiving a five-year grant through the 21st Century Learning Center. This grant was a great fit for our program as it aims to provide kids with opportunities to excel in school and offers programs that enrich character during non-school hours. This effort was only made possible because of our collaboration with the City of Rupert and Minidoka County School District. Getting the Club up and running took a year and a half of planning, fundraising and of course a few construction projects. We look forward to being a part of the Rupert community.

We also dove into a much-needed capital campaign to expand our Twin Falls Club. The expansion will include 8,000 square feet with classroom space for our rapidly growing K-Netic (Kindergarten) and Teen programs. The addition will allow us to serve up to 200 more kids. Our Twin Falls Club has had a waiting list for the past four years. This expansion can’t happen soon enough! I am very grateful to our capital campaign chair, Mike McBride, who has led the charge in this effort. I also want to thank all of you that have contributed to our campaign. We have been fortunate enough to receive a matching grant for up to $600,000 from the J.A. & Kathryn Albertson Family Foundation. This has allowed us to share our story and need with new and existing donors, foundations and our community. I have no doubt we will be starting construction in 2019.

On November 1st, we held our first annual “Business Breakfast” benefitting our capital campaign. This event brought over 250 attendees together to hear about our campaign, engage in a fascinating presentation by Mike McHargue (author or Rookie Mistakes), and to honor our board president, Gregg Middlekauff with the 2018 Smallwood Award. The breakfast was a huge success! Thank you to our sponsors and to those that purchased tickets and tables.

Each year, the holidays bring the most generous people to the Boys & Girls Club. This year was no different with the exception that we were able to help over 100 of our families (teaser to read more inside) with Christmas needs. Thank you to those that were a part of these efforts. Christmas really is the most wonderful time of the year! Thank you for spreading the MAGIC!

These are just a few of the exciting happenings in 2018. Please read on to learn more about our Clubs, our highlights, our donors and our impactful stories. This is all possible because of you! Wishing you all a happy and healthy 2019.

Best,

Lindsey Westburg

Interview with Board Member

Lisa Paulos

What has been your involvement in the Boys & Girls Club?

I have been on the board for a really long time, back when Don Hall was still the Executive Director. My first time really getting involved was when Don asked me for help with the auction, which was at the Radio Rendezvous back then. After that, working with the auction has been my place in the com-mittee. I am currently on the Board of Directors and the Executive Board for Boys & Girls Clubs of Magic Valley.

What are your involvements in the community?

I am involved in a lot of different things, but especially working to help with fundraisers. Some of my other commitments are with Interlink Volunteer Caregivers, Snake River Canyon Project, and Con Paulos Charitable Foundation, and I work at Stratus Communications Marketing Company.

What do you feel the Club brings to our community?

I feel like the Club is a safe place for kids to be. I think we bring a lot of things to kids like my granddaughter Emma, as far as having somewhere to go after school. We bring something to kids who have a tougher home life, and I am really proud of that. We provide a way for kids who don’t have hope for a bright future. That’s what we do, and that’s what makes the difference.

Why do you support the Club?

It’s very important that children have a safe place to go, and I think that communities have a responsibility to make sure that we are all pulling together to raise children who are going to be responsible members of society. And our granddaughters loved it, which is awesome too. Being involved in the Club has given me a bigger perspective as to our community’s needs, and it gives you a sense of purpose beyond just day-to-day living; that you’re contributing to something larger than yourself.

What are you looking forward to in the future of the Club?

I’m really looking forward to having another record-breaking auction. The first auction I worked at, we made maybe $60,000; and we started our Clubs serving 120-150 kids. I’ve been able to go through those growths and the expansion of Twin and Buhl, and I would love to see us be able to serve more and more kids – whether or not that’s possible. I just want to see continual growth of the Club, which is why I’m excited to see our capital campaign progress in the future for the new expansion to get started. I’m happy to see Rupert open and active too. There are a lot of great things going for our Club and it’s all really exciting!

What are some of the best parts of being involved in a Boys & Girls Club?

There are so many fun things that come with Club commitment. Some of my favorite events are the back-to-school parties, and Youth of the Year is always one of the best events to go to. Even just going to a Club is fun though. I love going in when the energy level is crazy-high, and the kids are always really polite when we come in. If I could give a word of advice to anyone considering getting involved, I would have to say that it will be one of the best experiences of your life. We have a great Board, great staff, great kids… we have a lot of fun and we learn a lot. I love being a part of this.

Thank you,

Giltner Trucking!

On December 18th we had the privilege of being part of

Giltner Trucking's meeting. What a fun and generous

group! They presented us with a $7,500 check for our

Twin Falls Capital Campaign Expansion. Their

contribution will be matched by the J.A. & Kathryn

Albertson Family Foundation. We are so grateful for all

of their support. Thank you, Giltner!

First Annual Business Breakfast On Thursday, November 1, the First Annual Business Breakfast was held as we kicked off the public phase of our Twin Falls Capital Campaign. We had an amazing turnout with over 250 people in attendance. Our keynote speaker was Mike McHargue with The Table Group. Mike talked about his new book, “Rookie Mistakes, Advice from Top Executives on 5 Critical Leadership Errors.” We also got to surprise Gregg Middlekauff and present him with the 2018 Smallwood Award. Thank you, Gregg for always going above and beyond for the Club! A big shout out to Times News Magic Valley Media for being our Corporate Sponsor. We would also like to thank our Elite Sponsors: Banner Bank, Middlekauff Auto Mall, Lytle Signs, Canyon Crest, Clif Bar, Standlee Premium Western Forage, First Federal, Idaho Central Credit Union, and Mike & Jan McBride. Thank you to Falls Brand Independent Meat Company, Clif Bar, and Chobani for providing the breakfast. Lastly, we would like to thank all of our table sponsors and everyone that attended the event. 100% of the money raised from the breakfast will be matched by the J.A. & Kathryn Albertson Family Foundation and will be put towards our Twin Falls Capital Campaign Expansion. We are hoping to continue having a Business Breakfast, so stay tuned this Fall for a date!

Leave a Legacy...

All of the children in our community deserve the right to be cared for, nurtured and given the opportunity to reach their full potential. It is a proven fact that children are at greater risk of being involved in crime, substance abuse, and teenage pregnancy during the non-school hours.

It may surprise you to know that our members pay an annual fee of just $20 per year, yet it costs approximately $1800 annually for each child to participate in our programs. Every dollar we receive counts. Consider how your dollar can benefit the kids of the Magic Valley.

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Magic Valley provide a safe and positive environment, offering programs for children ages 5 to 18. The Club offers the social and emotional support needed to meet the challenges of our youth’s changing environment. Our Clubs help develop self-esteem, positive values and skills through a variety of educational, cultural, social, health and recreational programs. Our programs are continually improving to meet our members' many needs.

Many children in our community often wonder where their next meal is going to come from. At the Boys & Girls Club, we serve ALL of our members breakfast, lunch, and snack, free of charge. Your investment helps to ensure that all of our kids are receiving nutritious meals.

YOU can make a difference in the life of a child by giving to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Magic Valley! We make it easy and there are many ways to give.

Ways to give… Gifts of direct cash

Gifts of stock

Gifts of real estate

In-kind gifts

Gifts in memory of

someone

Volunteering

Capital Campaign

Charitable bequests

Banner Bank

Berkshire Hathaway

HomeServices

Betty Coiner

Betty Rae Pastoor

Bill Koch

Black Pine Cabinets

Blue Lakes Country Club

Capitol Distributing

Clear Springs Foods, Inc.

Con & Lisa Paulos

Cooper Norman

Dutch Bros

First Federal Savings Bank

Fisher’s Technology

Giltner Trucking

Glanbia Nutritionals, Inc.

Grant & Hagan, Inc

Idaho Central Credit Union

Infinity Lights

James Ricks

Jeanne Gannon

Jim & Afton Patrick

Keveren Foundation

Lytle Signs

Magic Valley Festival of Giving

Mart Fresh Pack, LLC

Michael & Vicki Guerry

Middlekauff Auto Group

Mike & Jan McBride

Paula Brown Sinclair

Petersen Brothers Const., Inc.

Randy & Angela Grant

Rick & Sandy White

St. Luke's Magic Valley

Standlee Hay Company, Inc.

Steve & Cheryl Kaatz

Swire Coca-Cola

Table Group Consulting

Therapedic Mattress of Idaho

Threads

TitleOne

Thank you to our Arrow Level

($1,000 or more) donors for 4th Quarter...

The Club hosted our annual Christmas Dinner on Thursday, December 6, 2018. This event is free for all of our Club members and their families, and it is always an excellent way to kick off the Christmas season! We served 300 people a delicious Christmas Dinner in our gym, followed by a performance by our Knetic kids. They sang Christmas songs and charmed the crowd with their Rudolph noses and the maracas they made to sing “Feliz Navidad”. This dinner wouldn’t be possible without the generosity of our community. Thank you to CSI, US Foods, Lamb Weston, and Pepsi. Also a special thank you to the Twin Falls Optimist Club for providing the desserts and helping with set up, serving, and clean up. This event always leaves us feeling grateful for the amazing community we live in and the incredible kids and families we have the opportunity to serve each day!

Highlights from Buhl... We have had a busy winter at the Buhl Club! Although the temperatures are dropping and many begin to hibernate for the winter, our members have stayed active and engaged to fight those winter blues. Each week our members engage in sports and recreational activities, healthy eating lessons, STEM activities, exploring cultures from all around the world, all things art, life skills, and more! At any given moment in the Club all of our members are busy creating, exploring, and learning new things in a hands on approach. Our teen programs are more successful than ever. We've been averaging 15-20 teens and tweens attending our after school program and 40+ kids attending teen nights. This growth is largely due to new programming, offering the teens their own space within the building, and word of mouth. We are glad to provide not only a safe and fun environment for our teens, but to provide them with opportunities that help build bright futures. In closing 2018 we're reflecting back on a very successful year in Buhl and can't wait to see what 2019 holds! We look forward to continuing to serve this wonderful community and are so thankful for all of our families, staff, and donors who make it all possible!

2018 Festival of Giving On December 19, 2018, the Magic Valley Festival of Giving dispersed $310,505 to 30 local nonprofit at the Stone House & Co. The event was held November 16-19, 2018 at their new location Fleur de Lis Ranch. The festival featured: a Gala of Giving auction, breakfast with Santa, a BBQ Bids & Brews auction, pictures with princesses and a senior social. Proceeds given out to each of the nonprofits were calculated through a point system based off of tree & table sponsorships, the sale of their specific tree or wreath, auction items provided, volunteer hours, and table sales. This year the Boys & Girls Clubs of Magic Valley received $12,700.20. Major sponsors of this event this year were Plant Therapy, Farmers Bank, Fleur de Lis Ranch, and Southern Idaho Landscape Center. Special thanks to Brad & Linda Lanting, owners of Fleur de Lis Ranch and Mark & Debra Hansen for all they did to put this event together along with their event committee. A big shout out to Therapedic Mattress of Idaho as our tree sponsor, Rachele Dille for decorating our gorgeous tree and Ben & Jackie Longenecker for purchasing our tree.

We are truly grateful for the support we received through these funds that was put towards our operating expenses in our afterschool programs at our three Clubs in Twin Falls, Buhl and Rupert. We were able to provide STEM, arts/crafts, and fitness programs to over 400 kids that attend our Clubs each day.

Next year’s Festival of Giving is slated for November 22-25, 2019.

Describe your involvement with the Boys & Girls Club and the community:

I started on the board about 12 years ago after being approached by Don Hall and Rex Lytle. I didn’t know what I was getting into, but I trusted Rex, so I got into it. I spent a couple years on the Executive Board before stepping away from that and moving more towards fundraising, specifically with the dinner auction. I am also a member of the Chamber of Commerce, and have been the President and CEO of Wilson Bates for the last 40 years. I’ve been deeply involved with the growth and change of the Magic Valley in the last few decades.

Why do you support the Club, and where do you see it going?

Part of what keeps me coming back to the Club year after year is seeing the results of what an organization like the BGC can do for the youth in our community. From disadvantaged kids who have gone into the program and come out better on the other side. It’s just a great organization and it does good for all youth, not just the disadvantaged. I foresee it continuing to grow and expand. The current Capital Campaign that will add an additional 8,000 square feet to include a Teen Center and expand the Kindergarten programs is exciting . Many communities from Hailey to Jerome to Jackpot have expressed interest in the opportunity to facilitate programs like ours. Hopefully, in time, more areas will find a way to make it happen.

What impact has the Club has on you and the community?

The companionship and comradery with other members of the board and knowing a more diverse spectrum of business and community leaders that have all stepped up to make the Club a better place have all made this part of my life so worthwhile. The people I’ve met have certainly pushed me to step up and take part. Really, it takes more than one business or leader to make a community function. The Club certainly has an impact by giving children a place to be educated and enlightened in life. We are fortunate to have that opportunity in our community. There’s probably a lot larger need than we’re able to reach. But, nonetheless, the Club is such a positive influence on the community as a whole.

What’s one piece of advice you would give to someone considering getting involved with the Club?

As a donor, the money, time, or materials that you give to aid and support the Club will certainly come back to reward not just you, but the young people you touch. With the board, you have to realize that the function is to raise funds and capital to make sure we’re expanding—so you can’t be afraid to ask for money! It’s an incredible opportunity. Being involved, being willing to help, whether as a staff or volunteer, you have to know that you’re creating something so important for youth. You are helping, and there is a lot of self-reward in being involved.

Donor Spotlight:

Rick White

Rupert Club Since starting up in June, our Rupert Club has continued to thrive and grow in numbers. In August, we started our half-day Kindergarten program (Knetic) at the Rupert Club and are seeing close to 12 kids each day. This program is designed to supplement the other half of the day when the kids are not in school and is focused on hands-on, sensory based learning. In September, we began the 21st Century Learning Grant Program for grades K-5 and have been operating out of two sites: the Rupert Club and Rupert Elementary. Between the two sites, we are seeing close to 75 kids each day! Each day Club members are engaged in homework help, fitness, art, STEM, and mentorship. The Minidoka County School District provides transportation from all four elementary schools for our Club members to attend our after school program. We held a ribbon cutting at our Rupert Club Site on October 25th and had an amazing turn out! We had so many great people in attendance including the Mayor, City Council Members, BGC Board members, and a few of our large donors from the Rupert community. We are so grateful for the continued support from the Rupert community and can’t wait to see our program in Rupert grow!

Lowe’s Renovation Across

the Nation

The Twin Falls Club was lucky enough to be chosen once again for the Lowe’s Renovation Across the Nation grant. We were awarded $50,000 to install a new gym floor. A special celebration was held with our local Lowe’s employees in December to show off our new floor and challenge the employees to a basketball game against some of our Club kids! We are so grateful to have so much support from Lowe’s.

Boys & Girls Clubs of Magic Valley

Hours of Operation: M-F

6:45am- 6:30pm.

*Contact the Club for Teen Night Hours

www.bgcmv.com

Newsletter printed & donated by

Hands On Christmas For Christmas 2018, Twin Falls Hands On did an Angel Tree Giving Project to benefit the Boys & Girls Clubs of Magic Valley. They partnered with several businesses in the community including Plant Therapy, The City of Twin Falls, Middlekauff Ford, and Idaho Central Credit Union to station Christmas trees. Each tree had ornaments with the names of Club members. The ornaments also included things on their Christmas wish list. With their efforts, close to 200 Christmas gifts were purchased to benefit Boys & Girls Club members in Twin Falls, Buhl, and Rupert. The kids received things such as coats, boots, clothes, games, books, toys, and even a couple bikes! We are so grateful to Hands On and our generous community for making Christmas so special for many of our Club families.

Our local Youth of The Year program was held on November 14, 2018 at the Stonehouse & Co. We had so much fun celebrating three outstanding youth from our local Clubs: Fernando, Alex, and Selina. Each candidate worked so hard during the months leading up to it preparing. They wrote essays, collected letters of recommendation, maintained academic excellence in all their classes, put in community service hours, and prepared a speech to share their story and how the Club has impacted their life. They were also each individually interviewed by our panel of judges. The judges had a difficult decision to make, as each candidate did an amazing job of sharing their stories and being a great representation of the Club. Although there could only be one winner, each candidate walked away with scholarship dollars thanks to the generosity of the Uhlig Foundation. Thank you to our three amazing judges who took time out of their busy schedules to help make this event a success: Bill Koch, Mandy Brown, and Angela Grant. We also want to thank our BGCMV Alumni, Henley Blick, for being our guest speaker that evening. We are very proud to congratulate Selina Gonzalez as our 2019 Magic Valley Youth of the Year! Selina is the first Buhl candidate to be named Youth of the Year. She will continue on to Boise in February where she will compete for the title of Idaho Youth of the Year! Congrats to all of our candidates, and good luck Selina!

Twin Falls Unit

999 Frontier Road

Twin Falls, ID 83301

208-736-7011

Buhl Unit

523 Sawtooth Ave.

Buhl, ID 83316

208-329-7000

2019 Magic Valley Youth of The Year

February 20-21 Idaho State Youth of the Year

March 25-29 Spring Break

April 8-12 National Boys & Girls Club Week

May 3 Night of Stars Dinner & Auction

June 17 Title One Charity Golf Classic at BLCC

Fred Meyer Donation Reward Program: • Sign up for the Community Rewards program by linking your Fred Meyer Rewards Card to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Magic Valley at www.fredmeyer.com/communityrewards. You can search for us by name or our non-profit number 83152. • Then, every time you shop and use your Rewards Card, you are helping the Club earn a donation! • You still earn your Rewards Points, Fuel Points, and Rebates, just as you do today. • If you do not have a Rewards Card, they are available at the Customer Service desk of any Fred Meyer store. • For more information, please visit www.fredmeyer.com/communityrewards.

When you #StartWithSmile, Amazon donates 0.5% of the purchase price to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Magic Valley. Bookmark the link https://smile.amazon.com/ch/94-3176622 and support the Club every time you shop!

It’s like Christmas all over again for our STEM program! Thanks to Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s My Future program, we were the lucky recipient of a Computer Science Kit! The kit includes a Nintendo Switch, Labo Construction set, a CS Coding kit with two Little Bit Kits, and five Kano DIY Computers. Kudos to Jill Ratto, our STEM coordinator and her STEM kiddos. The kids designed their own apps, played various coding games, and uploaded over 20 projects to myfuture.net. We are excited to dive into these new kits .

Rupert Unit

323 1st St.

Rupert, ID 83350

208-647-4757

STEM Program

999 Frontier Road

Twin Falls, ID 83301

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2018 Festival of Giving

2019 Magic Valley Youth of

The Year

First Annual Business

Breakfast