The Boys and Girls Club of El Dorado will kickoff their Back the Kids Campaign today.
The campaign, which started last year as an initiative to mobilize the community in support of children and empower youth to achieve success, works as a fundraiser for Boys and Girls Club activities throughout the year. This event serves to invite people in the community to check out the club, and is free for members and non-members alike.
“We’re just trying to get people in the club, show them what we do,” said Victoria Hollis, Boys and Girls Club marketing director.
The club will stay open late tonight, open to the public from 3:30 to 7 p.m. The event will recognize Youth of the Year Cecil Delphin. Food will be provided by the Boys and Girls Grillmasters Club, who will be grilling hot dogs.
Boys and Girls Club facilities will be open, including their game room and gym. The El Dorado Service Club will host a Kids Zone outside the club, with face painting, hula hooping and a bouncy house.
Next month, the club will start their Shop the Square for Great Futures Fundraiser, which will run from June 4-9. Partnering shops will donate a percentage of their sales directly to the Boys and Girls Club to fund future activities.
Participating shops include:
Martha’s on the Square (10 percent of sales);
LaBella Gourmet Gifts and Delicatessen (5 percent);
Sydney Murphy Design (10 percent excluding bridal registries);
The Pottery House (10 percent);
All About Flowers (15 percent);
Murphy Pitard Jewelers (10 percent);
Sports Alley (10 percent);
Griffin Restaurant (10 percent);
Main Street Pizza (10 percent; customers must mention they are eating for the Boys and Girls Club); and
Almost Blonde (5 percent of retail sales).
Also starting next month is the Boys and Girls Club’s Laugh, Learn and Play Summer Camp. The camp will feature four mini-camps, focusing on the arts, fitness and nutrition, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) studies and aquatics.
Asked what campers can expect, Boys and Girls Club Director of Operations Deneisa Jamerson said the activities will be varied. For example, during the fitness portion of the camp, tennis players from El Dorado High School will visit the club to run drills with the children. During the arts portion, campers will have the opportunity to garden and learn to cook with what they grow. Children will build robots and work with Kinects during the STEM portion of the camp.
Campers will also take field trips throughout the summer. Jamerson said all of this summer’s field trips will be local, so they will use the Museum of Natural Resources, HealthWorks and the DeSoto Boy Scouts Camp.
“And with the (Murphy Arts District) Playscape opening Saturday, we will utilize that as well,” Jamerson said.
Each mini-camp will last two weeks. Campers will be placed in groups according to age and gender.
The camp is open to children 6 to 18 years old. Registration costs $20, plus a $10 membership fee for non-members. Breakfast and lunch will be served for free to all members. Registration will continue indefinitely; however, campers are required to attend a Parent Orientation to attend the camp. Orientations will take place May 29-June 1, with sessions planned for 10 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. on each day.
For more information or to make a donation, visit eldoradokids.org or call 870-863-8753.
Caitlan Butler can be reached at 870-862-6611 or [email protected].