Published: November 18, 2009 11:03 am      

Boys & Girls Club surviving donation drops

In a time of economic hardship where many not-for-profit organizations are seeing a drop in donations, causing some Indiana Boys & Girls Clubs to close, Lebanon’s is doing “fine,” said Executive Director Angie Veatch.

“We’ve been hit (by the economy) like everyone else,” she said, “but we’re not close to shutting down by any means.”

Some staff adjustments have been made due to “a little bit” of a drop in community donations, Veatch said, but their after-school numbers are actually up. They are averaging around 80 kids after school.

“Now that’s just 20 dollars a year per kid, so we’re not making a lot of money,” she said. “But we have kids in the building, and that’s our mission.”

A lot of contributing factors go into local donations, Veatch said, like how involved the community feels with the club. She tries to keep everyone up-to-date with newsletters and letting them know exactly where their donations are going.

“People like to support kids, so we try to keep them aware and in the loop,” Veatch said. “That way they’re going to be around for a while.”

Boys & Girls Clubs in Mooresville and Martinsville had to close their doors for two months starting in September because of a lack of money, reported WTHR in Indianapolis, affecting more than 500 kids in Morgan County. The Boys & Girls Club in Anderson permanently closed last spring. Other clubs in central Indiana remain open, but report substantial donation drops.

“We’re fairly fortunate, I think,” Veatch said.