The Valley Breeze: Community helps double award to Boys & Girls Club
By MELANIE THIBEAULT, Valley Breeze Staff Writer
PAWTUCKET – With help from the community the Pawtucket Boys & Girls Club has received a $10,000 award that will give local children with financial hardship the opportunity to participate in Club activities, which is even more important this year, say Club leaders.
Butler & Messier Inc. Insurance, with locations in Pawtucket and Cranston, has received a 2020 Make More Happen Award through Liberty Mutual and Safeco Insurance to be donated to the Boys & Girls Club, where employees volunteer. All 37 employees at Butler & Messier are involved with the Club, and many employees have children who have benefited from the summer camp programs and volunteered as camp counselors, according to a press release.
“We couldn’t be more thankful for the Butler and Messier team and their support of the club,” Jim Hoyt Jr., CEO of the Boys & Girls Club of Pawtucket, told The Breeze. “We can’t thank them enough.”
Bruce Messier, a sales executive at Butler & Messier and a member of the Boys & Girls Club’s Board of Trustees, said they are grateful to Liberty Mutual and Safeco for the award “because it is an incredible opportunity for us to provide much needed funds to support Boys & Girls Club of Pawtucket’s important work.”
“My team and I do not believe that any child should be left out from receiving such an incredible experience because of their financial situation and we’ve seen firsthand how the club shapes these children into model citizens,” he added.
The original award was for $5,000 but since community members shared a story about Butler & Messier Inc. Insurance and the Boys & Girls Club of Pawtucket more than 500 times on Facebook, the award was doubled to $10,000.
“It’s a fun thing to rally around,” Hoyt said. “It’s given people a chance to support the club. We had a great response.”
As of Monday, the story had received 546 shares. Read and share the story at www.agentgiving.com/butler-messier .
Hoyt said he wants to keep the momentum going, noting that anyone can donate to the Club and Club staff welcomes any assistance to help “support the youth and families who need us the most.” He said he also wants the community to recognize Butler & Messier for their support of the Club. “The fact that they even entered us into this competition, it’s just a great gesture on their part.”
“Our agents truly carry the ball when it comes to stepping up and volunteering for important causes in their local communities,” said Joseph Magner, Liberty Mutual Pawtucket region territory manager. “The Make More Happen program gives our agents an opportunity to make an even greater impact in areas like Pawtucket and we hope it inspires local residents to get out and support local charities.”
This year, Liberty Mutual and Safeco Insurance plan to pick 34 independent agents nationwide for a Make More Happen Award and will donate up to $340,000 to the nonprofits they support.
Messier, who noted the company has had a long history with the Club, said if folks have the opportunity to check out the Club or donate, “it does provide a brighter future for the youth.”
The Club, located at 1 Moeller Place in Pawtucket, serves more than 3,000 youth each year. Its mission is to “inspire and enable the young people of Pawtucket and surrounding communities, especially those with greatest need, to realize their full potential as healthy, productive, responsible and caring citizens,” according to its website.
Hoyt said the Club gives youth the opportunity to learn, grow, and give back to their community. All donations go toward supporting youth and families by providing opportunities kids may not get elsewhere, including having a safe place to go with consistent, friendly staff, he said.
Hoyt has noted that the need for the Club has grown since the pandemic started. The Club provides kids with positive role models and development, a place to learn and grow, and healthy meals.
While the Club closed down in mid-March because of the pandemic, Hoyt said many kids were stuck inside for three months with nowhere to go. Their goal, he said, was to reopen safely and provide a safe, healthy environment to let kids resume being kids with their summer program. Though they had to limit the number of kids who could participate, he said they did provide an experience for kids to just be kids and have fun with their friends.
Registration is currently open for the 2020-2021 Out-of-School Time Programs. Visit www.bgcpawt.org for more.
