in these hands - Boys and Girls Clubs of Boston

oard chair sandy edgerley during one of her many visits.
“it has eliminated our stress to know that our children
will arrive to the place they love and flourish in a safe
way, and in a way which we can afford.”
– parent
boys & girls clubs of boston 2008 annual report page 3
Dear Friends,
as you read this annual report, boys & girls clubs of boston is in a strong position, despite
daunting economic challenges facing our country.
on July 1, Josh Kraft became the new nicholas president and ceo, bringing his vision, deep
experience, entrepreneurial spirit, and passion for our mission to his role. in just a short time,
he has begun to guide us towards our goal of serving more youth. We are so grateful to linda
Whitlock for her inspiring leadership and for ensuring such a smooth transition. We are excited
about this new chapter in bgcb’s history.
our comprehensive campaign, successfully completed on June 30, has already enabled us to
serve hundreds more youth, especially teens, in our renovated and expanded yawkey club of
roxbury and blue Hill club in north Dorchester. the campaign also significantly strengthened
our endowment, giving us greater financial stability to face the fundraising challenges that
certainly lay ahead.
We are humbled by the generosity of 8,000 campaign donors whose every dollar helped make a
difference. the unprecedented achievement of the campaign was only possible because of the
extraordinary leadership of the campaign co-chairs and Honorary co-chairs, and the generous
support of our caring donors (see pages 17 – 24).
this fall, we launched a powerful pro-bono advertising campaign to raise visibility with the
dual goal of reaching new members and broadening our donor base. We are deeply grateful
to the staff at Hill Holliday who provided creative work on the campaign and related web site.
We are also grateful to the many media outlets that donated ad space. you will see elements
of the campaign throughout this annual report, and i hope you will go to our special web site
investinachild.org to learn more.
bgcb depends on fundraising to raise 85% of our annual operating budget. With some
government grants already reduced, we are concerned about the year ahead. However,
we feel fortunate to enter the year on solid financial ground for the 14,000 youth we
currently serve, and for the many more who will need us.
thank you for continuing to support our mission and ensuring that our city’s most vulnerable
children and teens have a safe haven in which they can become responsible adults. With your
help, we have accomplished so much, and we pledge to stay focused on helping the kids and
families who need us now more than ever.
With best wishes,
sandra M. edgerley
Chair, Board of Directors