19th August 2020
In late March, Austin-based philanthropists Brian and Adria Sheth – supporters of The Boys and Girls Clubs of the Austin Area and the namesakes for the nonprofit’s Home Club on the Sheth Family Campus – pledged their support for the crucial Club on the Go™ program, as well as expanding out-of-school-time care for the children of local first responders and healthcare workers in the form of dollar-for-dollar matching up to $500,000. The fundraising push on March 27, through the generosity of Austin’s community and the match gift from the Sheths, BGCAA was able to meet the fundraising challenge goal, raising over $1,00,000, that allowed them to provide uninterrupted critical services to Austin’s youth and their families.
Now, the Sheth Sangreal Foundation, partnered with Jefferies Group, led by its CEO, Richard Handler, to award a new $200,000 matching grant challenge to BGCAA to directly fund members’ Summer Camp tuition, Club on the Go™, and the important programming BGCAA offers throughout the summer months and another $200,000 in matching funds to support Central Texas Food Bank’s vital services amid the COVID-19 crisis that provide food to thousands of area residents in 21 counties.
Through these contributions, the Sheths and Handler want to honor Jefferies Group’s CFO, Peg Broadbent, who passed away from coronavirus complications in March.
“Jefferies is proud to partner with Brian Sheth and The Sheth Sangreal Foundation in supporting Central Texas Food Bank and The Boys and Girls Clubs of the Austin Area in their critical work to help those affected by COVID,” commented Rich Handler. “Jefferies remains committed to this cause to help those in need as we continue to honor the memory of our CFO, Peg Broadbent, who was taken by this terrible disease.”
This match grant challenge is a call to action for the local Central Texas-area community to support families, children and individuals in need during the pandemic. Once the matching challenge is met, these funds will allow Central Texas Food Bank to provide up to 1.6 million meals to those in need in their 21-county service area at a time when demand created by the pandemic has stretched the organization’s resources to the limit.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has caused the demand for our services to skyrocket,” said Derrick Chubbs, president and CEO of the Central Texas Food Bank. “This generous matching grant from Sangreal and Jefferies will provide nutritious meals for thousands of our neighbors in need. On behalf of the Central Texas Food Bank and all those we serve, thank you. This will have a huge impact.”
“Central Texas Food Bank’s commitment to fighting hunger is more relevant than ever during these challenging times for our community,” Brian Sheth said. “Guided by our mission at Sangreal, “no one stands alone while protecting life,” we want to support Central Texas Food Bank’s efforts to provide help and nourish those affected by COVID-19 and continue to lead the community in the fight against hunger.”
To give to the Central Texas Food Bank and have your gift matched go, to centraltexasfoodbank.org/urgentneed
Over the past 16 weeks, Club on the Go™ has allowed BGCAA to deliver over 29,000 bags including 147,900 meals, over 567,000 supplies and 147,033 cartons of milk. To meet the ever-changing needs, BGCAA added virtual programming to supplement weekly lesson plans provided in Club on the Go™ kits. As the Club families slowly return to their routines, BGCAA will continue to evaluate how best to serve them.
BGCAA’s Home Club and NYOS are now open for Summer Camp, bringing back the joy of laughing children to the halls of their Clubs. Unfortunately, with just a fraction of the Clubs reopened, many of the members are not able to experience in-person Club activities, games, and friendships. This is why the Club on the Go™ will be there for Club youth and families until schools and Clubs are fully functional.
“We are incredibly grateful to Brian Sheth and Richard Handler for their support during these uncertain times. When Brian reached out to me in early March, and I shared with him how BGCAA planned to pivot our service delivery and fundraising model to Club on the Go™ he didn’t hesitate to offer his financial support of our efforts. And, because of his philanthropic understanding of the power of a challenge/match grant as leverage to help spur the excitement of others to do the same, we were able to make-up significant revenue that we would have otherwise lost as a result of having to cancel two of our signature events. Because of the initial success of this campaign, BCGAA has not closed its doors. And we continue to serve our families and the community, meeting our mission and changing the lives of kids who need us most,” stated Misti Potter, BGCAA, Chief Executive Officer.
“As the coronavirus pandemic continues to impact local Austin youth and their families, we want to reinforce our commitment to support the community through this new matching gift challenge in partnership with Jefferies,” Brian Sheth said. “We hope that The Boys and Girls Club of Austin Area’s efforts to help the families affected during these challenging times serve as an inspiration for the rest of the community to join our support to make sure their critical programming keeps on going through the summer.”
To donate to the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Austin Area and have your donation matched, go to bgcaustin.org/donate
STATESMAN: Two new matching grants for local Boys & Girls Clubs, Central Texas Food Bank
