About 15 community members and one business were honored with a plaque on the Boys and Girls Club of Santa Clarita Valley’s “Giving Tree” at an intimate ceremony at the James T. Ventress Clubhouse in Newhall on Tuesday afternoon.
The “Giving Tree” is a way to showcase different community members who make a commitment of five years donating about $1,000 or more to the services the organization offers.
Matt Nelson, CEO of the SCV Boys and Girls Club, said that the Giving Tree was an initiative that started about nine years ago for their “Great Futures” breakfast.
During the afternoon, the honorees got the chance to see the unveiling of their plaques and build gingerbread houses with the kids for the club’s Festival of Trees.
“Today is a fun way that we bring them in to see their impact in person (and) to see what the club’s all about, get to spend a little time with some awesome kids and have a great memorable experience,” Nelson said.
He added that it feels great to see the community rally around the club and support the mission because it is what keeps them going.
“It provides us (with) the security of knowing we have ongoing annual support. So, some of that comes in monthly, others once a year, but it gives us some support that we know we can count on, which is so important because kids are facing so many challenges. It’s tough growing up these days,” Nelson said.
Sarah Wetzel, one of the people honored, said she was inspired by the club’s mission and seeing everyone have so much passion for building a safe space for children made her want to be a part of it.
Wetzel said one of her favorite things that the club offers is the in-person after-school programs.
“So, a lot of kids, they go home, they’re on devices, they’re on the internet, they’re online. (That’s) totally OK. Like, there’s a place for that. But they’re not with each other, and they’re not socializing with each other … and so seeing the kids interacting with each other … it’s a third space (for them),” Wetzel said.
John Lite, chair of the governing board at the SCV Boys and Girls Club, said that Santa Clarita is special because of its community members who continue giving to all the non-profits in the valley and showing how much they care about everyone.
“So, everyone knows each other and we know kids that have been impacted. We know families that have impacted. So the fact that we’re able to get out, and some people still don’t know what we do, which is shocking. They go, ‘What do you do?’ And then they come here, and they (say), ‘Oh my gosh, you have leadership programs,’ and we do more. We’re more than just a summer camp,” Lite said.
Lite added that he appreciated the honorees because they did not expect to get recognized with the plaque; they were just doing something out of the kindness of their heart – calling it special.
