Haliwa-Saponi Boys and Girls Club receives $100k

May 10—HOLLISTER — Haliwa-Saponi Boys and Girls Club members accepted a $100,000 check on Wednesday afternoon, courtesy of Bridgestone.

It was more of a celebration — the money had already been used to bring the club into the 21st century, so to speak, with three television sets, hotspots for better internet connectivity, access to the SMART Moves training program and to myfuture.net, interactive boards, gaming consoles and improved transportation fleet maintenance — repairs, fuel and driver salaries.

MyFuture is a web service that provides those students access to educational programs in the realm of subjects like digital literacy, teaching them how to create strong passwords or make edits on Wikipedia, for example.

Going down the list of those programs, there's a little something for everyone — one that teaches the importance of voting, another about poetry and lyricism, others about cooking, internet modems, retro gaming, to name a few.

There's a lot to do.

The gaming stations provide another recreational activity, the televisions access to educational videos and the fleet maintenance keeps the vans running. Hotspots act as a replacement for internet connectivity.

The dollars that paid for all of it came from the Driving Great Futures initiative a partnership between BGC and Bridgestone, explained Regional Manager Nick Szust. It has provided somewhere in the ballpark of $23 million for Boys and Girls Clubs' tech and transportation needs since its inception in 2015.

In 2023, the company bought 13 new vans for BGCs in Elgin, Illinois, for example. The cash came from donations from customers and company team members.

The BGC underwent a reorganization and restructuring, reopening March 11, said its CEO Patricia Richardson. It has 20-some children enrolled, but Richardson is hoping for 35-40.

Those kids come from a low-income environment, many attending title I schools and receiving free or reduced-price lunches, said Richardson.

The club first opened in June 2022.

As mentioned, the money has been put to use. Wednesday's event was more "to highlight and show Bridgestone our appreciation and showcase what has been established here," said Richardson. "We want to extend a welcome to our community and let them know how thankful we are for their support."