Your gift of $10,000 could cover costs such as a week's worth of prepped meals for 250 Club families.

Like too many Chicagoans, there are Club families who battle food insecurity. Recent events - like the statewide stay-at-home orders, business closures, and the suspension of at-school food programs - have only exacerbated the issue.

To help, BGCC joined forces with RealGood Stuff Co. and other partners to provide families with wholesome organic ingredients and groceries. At Club locations, staff members set up safe, socially-distant distribution sites where Club families could effectively grocery shop for the fresh food and groceries their families would otherwise go without.

"The food and groceries available at the Club during this time put food on our table when we would have struggled to do so on our own," said a member of one family supported by the program.

To date, RealGood Stuff Co.'s "Buy a Box, Give a Box" program has donated over 10,000 pounds of organic food sourced from local small farms.

A home-cooked dinner and a professionally-prepared meal - BGCC gives members the best of both culinary delights through one of our meal kit programs. This summer, 120 Club youth and their families received meal kits and grocery essentials thanks to the generosity of Eduardo's Enoteca, the cozy Italian restaurant in the Gold Coast neighborhood.

Your gift of $5,000 could cover costs such as 10 desktop computers for our Technology Centers of Excellence.

Your gift of $2,500 could cover costs such as "A Club for Home" kits for 175 young people.

A Club for Home kits - dropped at children's doorsteps - are packed with science materials, art supplies, books, and educational games to keep kids engaged in Club activities at home.

For young people around the city, the move to at-home learning has presented new challenges. Our Club members, living in some of the most economically challenged communities in Chicago, don't have even the most basic school supplies at home to work on activities and assignments.

Thanks to donor support, though, BGCC staff were able to respond quickly by assembling and delivering over 500 A Club for Home kits. These kits were filled with essentials from crayons and construction paper to healthy snacks and cloth face masks. They even included some games to make sure our Club members were finding time to have a little fun. To date, over 2,000 kits have been distributed to Club members across the city.

"It was important that we connected with our members in a meaningful way during these uncertain times. We wanted our actions to have real impact and to let our Club families know that their Clubs are with them," said Katie Rutkowski, BGCC Director of Executive Operations.

"Think about when you were a kid, how fun it was to receive a package. Our hope is that we can provide essentials, but also that feeling of excitement and hope that so many of our members truly need during these difficult times," said Jason Vasquez, BGCC Manager of Corporate and Volunteer Relations

Club members definitely were excited to find their very own kit on their doorstep: "We don't have many art supplies or books at my house, so the Club for Home kit is going to be so much fun!" - Sean, age 9, BGCC member.

Your gift of $1,000 could cover costs such as face masks for 400 members.

Your gift of $500 could cover costs such as STEM science experiments for 40 teens.

Your gift of $250 could cover costs such as sports equipment for a Club.

Your gift of $100 could cover costs such as art & craft supplies for 12 youth.