Ethan Hoagland
Sweet Home’s Boys and Girls Club is back with a brand new team, and they’re planning to hit the ground running. Fitting, then, that to kick off their next year of programming, they held a Kentucky Derby-themed fundraiser on Saturday, October 21.
“It’s a fresh start and we’re excited,” Michelle Knight, Sweet Home Clubhouse Director said. “Everybody who’s stopped by is excited for tonight because there hasn’t been anything like this in Sweet Home for a long time.”
Titularly sponsored by Tony and Shelly Larson’s Julegard Christmas Farm, the 2023 Fall Children’s Benefit Auction featured both a live and silent auction to raise funds for the club. Guests also purchased individual tickets or whole tables, where they enjoyed a dinner buffet, a dessert buffet and in true Kentucky Derby fashion, tended bars.
“Really, our entire operating budget is reliant on fundraising and sponsorships,” Knight said. “Everything we do is a fundraising effort.”
Knight said it was an amazing night, with lots of money raised for the kids. While they’re still making the final tallies from the auctions, United Health Care offered $25,000 in matching funds.
One of the top items of the night was a Blackstone grill and all its accouterments. Other items included free Dutch Bros for a year, Oregon Jamboree passes, a fishing trip for six and much more.
“We had a great set of packages for our live auction,” CEO of the Boys and Girls Club of the Greater Santiam Casey Humphrey said. “Some of those packages, you know, people had to pay some money for them. People had to battle it out. Which is what we love to see.”
“It’s only going to help the kids,” Humphrey added.
The Sweet Home club, as part of the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Greater Santiam, offers kids in the community after school programs, sports teams and field trips on non-school days. The organization says it costs $50 a day to serve one child. Art supplies cost the clubs $200 a week and utilities can run $2,500 a month.
There was good reason to come out of the gate strong with the derby-themed auction this year. Courtney Paul, Director of Resource Development for the clubs, pointed out there hasn’t been a fall auction in years.
“This is the first auction we’ve had since 2019,” she said. “I think it’s really important that we bring the community, get them re-engaged in the Sweet Home club and really try and earn their trust back.”
Building more inroads with the community is top of mind for clubhouse director Knight.
“We have a new leadership team, almost everyone on our leadership team is new,” she said. “And so we’re hoping to build some trust, build some relationships.” She said it’s been about a decade since Sweet Home had its own clubhouse director, something CEO Humphrey changed this summer when he hired Knight.
“I’m making a big effort to get out in the community,” Knight said. “Talk with business owners, business people in developing relationships. The high school wants to partner with us.”
Although she’s working to build relationships, Knight is hardly new to the Sweet Home community, having about 15 years of experience with the Sweet Home school district. A more detailed look at Knight’s experience and the decision to hire her as Sweet Home’s clubhouse director can be found on The New Era website.