Wellington Dinner Dance Marks 31 Years Serving
Boys & Girls Club
The Neil S. Hirsch Family Boys & Girls Club of Wellington will be holding its largest fundraiser of the year on Friday, Jan. 4, 2019 at the Wycliffe Golf & Country Club. Proceeds will directly benefit the educational programs of the organization, one of 13 Boys & Girls Club locations serving nearly 8,600 Palm Beach County children between the ages of 6 and 18.
Founded in 1971, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Palm Beach County is a not-for-profit youth development organization dedicated to promoting the educational, vocational, health, leadership and character of boys and girls in a safe, nurturing environment. Clubs like Wellington’s provide more than a fun and constructive alternative to being home alone — they offer a variety of award-winning developmental programs to help youth build skills, self-esteem and values during critical periods of growth. Club sites are intentionally located in resource-constrained neighborhoods throughout Palm Beach County, bridging the financial opportunity gap between various communities.
“It is an honor and a pleasure to have the opportunity to give back to the Wellington community,” said Nicolette Goldfarb, chair of the Wellington Dinner Dance and recently elected chair of the club’s advisory board.
Goldfarb’s 2019 co-chairs include Georgina Bloomberg, Dr. Ramprasad Gopalan, Julie Khanna and Marley Goodman-Overman. Honorary chairs are Dr. Edward and Maria Becker, Eric and Jennifer Goldman, and John and Julie Kime.
The event is one of the most anticipated highlights of Wellington’s social season, attracting high-profile equestrians, philanthropists and community leaders. The Wycliffe clubhouse will be magically transformed into an exquisite secret garden. Cocktails begin at 6:30 p.m. with plenty of time for browsing the large silent auction.
Attire is optional black tie. Dinner and dancing will begin at 7:30 p.m. Returning by request for this year’s live entertainment will be the Miami-based band HyRyZe. Crafting a cross-cultural musical platform, HyRyZe evokes and samples favorite artists with an eclectic approach bursting with energy, soul and fun. The multi-talented instrumentalists and vocalists will again have guests excited to dance the night away.
A committee made up of dedicated members of the Wellington community has come together to plan the gala and continue the club’s legacy. “Each dedicated chair and committee member brings something extraordinary to the table. They are instrumental in achieving our goal of enhancing the lives of youth,” said Jaene Miranda, CEO and president of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Palm Beach County, who is deeply grateful for the group’s time and dedication to the mission of the Wellington club.
The Neil S. Hirsch Family Boys & Girls Club Dinner Dance Committee members for 2019 include Mariam Abram, Susan Ferraro, Shelly B. Goodman, Dr. Colette Brown Graham, Heidi Harland, Crystal Hochman, Kimberly Leland, Jennifer Martinez, Kila Mistry, Dr. Druhti Pandit, Dr. Daxa Patel, Charlene Ramos, Lindsay Strafuss, Kathryn Walton and Becky Wisnicki.
Through quality programs, the club experience gives children the guidance they need to make a healthy transition from childhood to young adulthood. The Boys & Girls Club model has received the highest effectiveness rating from the National Dropout Prevention Center. Club members graduate at a higher rate than the general population. Regular attendees perform better in school, make healthier choices and volunteer thousands of hours. Although nationally recognized, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Palm Beach County is locally run, responsible for raising its own funds, allowing every site to be responsive to the specific needs of the neighborhood and youth served.
The Wellington Dinner Dance has been instrumental in the club’s expansion plans, which included a $3.6 million, 22,500-square-foot state-of-the-art facility that transformed the Boys & Girls Club presence in Wellington five years ago and now provides after-school care for hundreds more local children in need. Today, more than 450 youth benefit from such programs at the Wellington club, which features a full gym, computer room, dance and music studios, and game rooms.
While Wellington has an average household income of nearly $90,000, more than 63 percent of club children live in households with annual incomes less than $40,000.
Goldfarb said that her fellow committee members are an incredibly dedicated group of volunteers, drawn from a wide cross section of our community. “Together, we use our various areas of expertise to bring quality programming to a growing number of area youth. By setting young people on a path to a bright future, we ensure a more positive future for us all,” she said.
Sponsorships and underwriting opportunities for the Jan. 4 event are available at all levels. For more info., contact Christine Martin at (561) 683-3287 or cmartin@bgcpbc.org. Individual tickets are $250 per person and available at www.bgcpbc.org.
