The Boys and Girls Club of the Capital Area
Background
The Boys and Girls Club of the Capital Area (BGCCA),
in partnership with the City School District of Albany,
the Cohoes City School District, and the Watervliet City
School District have been providing Pre-Kindergarten
services to an average of 500 children since 1998.
The Capital Area is typically blue-collar and lower income.
In 2020, BGCCA battled budget cuts and while experiencing
an increased need for assistance. An important goal was
procuring individual learning kits for Pre-K students
(e.g., providing supplies to mitigate the impact of
COVID-19 on their learning experience). The pandemic kept
many children out of Pre-K classrooms, making it
even more difficult for teachers and students. BGCCA
and GyvLINK partnered to help.
Donations Campaign
With GyvLINK’s focus on community-building efforts, BGCCA
was a natural fit for the donation-matching software platform.
GyvLINK’s CEO, Devvan Stokes
got involved - learning about BGCCA’s needs, posting
them on the GyvLINK platform, and using it
to share the request for desired items with nearby communities.
As a visual gift registry, donors were able to see the up-to-date
requests, as well as items that had already been donated.
GyvLINK's campaign to solicit corporate
and individual donations for TFP caught the attention
of local news and media outlets, and further interest
was brought to the needs faced by the community.
Results
GyvLINK’s promotion and outreach enabled BGCCA and the children to quickly receive 500 dry erase marker boards. The provision of these supplies had a direct impact on the efficacy of Pre-K learning activities, and the children’s enthusiasm and motivation for learning in a remote COVID-19 learning environment. The donations campaign delivered a precise number of items, generated zero waste, and caused no warehousing costs. Moreover, BGCCA did not have to recruit and coordinate volunteers with the task of sorting, transporting, or disposing / redistributing the items.
Testimonial
"During a time of uncertainty with COVID-19 and a need to adapt for our youth, GyvLINK was there to support the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Capital Area. Together we were able to provide over 500 Pre-Kindergarten students with the resources needed to continue learning from a distance." -Jimmy Bulmer, Director of Development, Individual Giving
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