'They deserve for us not to give up'

MOSES LAKE — The Boys & Girls Clubs of the Columbia Basin raised about $250,000 on Saturday night at its annual banquet and auction, and the money will go straight to the kids who need it, said club Director Kim Pope.

“When they come to our club, what do we do?” Pope asked the crowd. “Well, one of the main things we do is feed them.”

In a survey of women who were incarcerated, Pope said, some 80% said that a factor in the path their lives took was that they went to school hungry.

“If we just feed kids, can we change what happens in their life,” Pope said. “That's one of the important things that we do every day. We make sure that our kids are fed. Right now, (it’s) not even the end of the year and we've served over 40,000 meals and snacks to kids.”

“I know that a lot of our students go (to the Boys & Girls Club),” said Park Orchard Elementary School teacher Perlita Owens. “With parents working really late, it’s just a great place for kids to go and be safe.”

The seating was sold out at 320 people for the event, which was held in the ATEC Building at Big Bend Community College. The theme was Barbie, and the ladies’ costumes trended heavily toward pink, although there were a lot of striped beach shirts and Mojo Dojo fur coats on the attending Kens. A few variations were wandering around as well, like Trece Brown’s Hippie Barbie and Timothy Johnson’s collectible Ken doll still in its original box. Barbie has had literally hundreds of professions over the years, and for the Boys & Girls Club, she served as a reminder that kids can be whatever they want to be.

That reminder was all over the venue as well, on posters that showed photos of club kids saying what they wanted to be when they grew up, along with adults who actually were those things. Firefighters and police officers were popular choices, although chefs, nurses and veterinarians had their admirers.

“I'm really disappointed none of the kids wanted to be the director of Boys and Girls Club, but can you blame them?” Pope said.

The prime rib dinner was provided by Firehouse Barbecue and Chuck Yarbro Auctioneers conducted the live auction. As always, there was a substantial array of wines to be sampled, many from local wineries, and more on the tables.

“This year we don’t have as large a selection, but quality of wines is through the roof,” said board member Trace Stephens, who was pouring samples for the guests. “Best quality we’ve had, really, of all the years (we’ve done this).”

KXLY news anchor Derek Deis served as master of ceremonies.

“I grew up in Moses Lake, about four blocks from here on Castle Drive,” Deis said. “My mom and dad lived here for 40-plus years … I've always believed it's not about how many people you have in the room, it's about who you have in the room. And we can make magic right here tonight for the Boys and Girls Club.”

This has been a difficult year for the Boys & Girls Club, Pope told the crowd, as the Moses Lake School District’s financial woes have jeopardized the clubhouses at six schools. A donation from Group14 and its contractor partners saved the day in July with a $175,000 donation, but that only pays for the rest of 2024, leaving the club’s future uncertain next year.

Pope likened the club to a football team. She’s the quarterback, she said, and the board is her coach, telling her in her ear what direction the club should go. Her staff is her front line, and the backfield is the donors in the community.

“I’ve got my running backs, I‘ve got my receivers,” she said. “That’s all of you. I give you the handoff, and you keep pushing forward. You get us that first down. This year, it was the end of our game. It’s fourth down, and it’s minus $175,000. I threw up a Hail Mary and my friend (Group14 Plant Manager) Don Kersey caught it … But I still need another wide receiver. We still need to keep those sites open.”

The Boys & Girls Club serves 1,200 children, about half in the lower-income Larson and Longview neighborhoods, Pope said.

“They struggle with services after school,” she said. “We want to make sure they have a safe place to go. I think of our fans as the club kids. They deserve for us to win the game for them. They deserve for us not to give up.”