Polo in Zionsville on Friday, July 23 was a huge success. The Boys & Girls Club of Boone County partnered with zWORKS for the third year in a row for the event held at the Hickory Hills Polo Club.
Over 370 cars paid for $40 to enjoy a beautiful evening of Polo, candy drop, DJ and tailgating to benefit these two charities. 18 tailgate spots were pre-reserved for the cost of $300 to include a front row seat to the action, reserved parking for two cars and seating for six.
Thank you to 120 Water and Intelligent Living. Both companies held client and employee appreciation parties at the event.
Registration for the fourth annual ZGravy Chase on Thanksgiving Day 2020 is now open. This year’s event gives runners and walkers the choice to participate live starting on Main Street in Zionsville or virtual via a walk/run in their own neighborhood. Regardless of the choice, proceeds benefit the Boys & Girls Club of Boone County.
“For many families, ZGravy Chase has become a Thanksgiving tradition, and we heard from these past participants that they want the event to continue this year,” said Rob Schien, BGC Boone County Board president. “For our Main Street walkers and runners, our planning team is working with Town officials and the county health department to ensure all safety protocols are in place. The new walk-in-your neighborhood virtual opportunity offers our supporters a great option to participate at a socially distanced comfort level.”
ZGravy Chase traditionally welcomes families from throughout central Indiana. Runners and walkers include parents with strollers, families with dogs, and participants ranging in age from infants to 87 years old. The goal for the 2020 race is to raise $145,000 for the Boys & Girls Club of Boone County. Funds raised from this year’s event are more important than ever because the organization is projecting a 40% operations budget shortfall in 2020 due to current COVID-19 restrictions and guidelines.
Cost to run/walk at the event in Zionsville on Main Street is $40 per person or $130 for a family of four. Limited to 1,000 participants.
Cost to run/walk in your neighborhood virtually is $30 per person.
Register by Sunday, Nov. 1 to be guaranteed a tee shirt with delivery by race day (always a participant favorite).
Race packets will be available for pick up at the BGC Boone County Zionsville Unit on Wednesday Nov. 25 from noon to 6 p.m.
Optional packet shipment requests can be made during online registration.
Main Street runners and walkers race will start at 8 a.m. with rolling start times to ensure social distancing. Racers will move through in the hole, on deck, and start corrals to ensure safe spacing and distancing. This process allows 300 participants properly spaced at one time for walk run/walk preparation and starts. Masks are required pre- and post-race. The event starting line will be located separate from the finish line. Currently 1,000 runner/walker registrations are allocated.
Virtual runners and walkers will walk where they live on Thanksgiving Day. Virtual racers are encouraged to wear their tee-shirt during the walk, welcome other virtual racers you see along your route, and take photos to share on social media. Virutal participants can log their times after the virtual walk or run at Race Joy.
Neighborhood Ambassador volunteers are invited to organize family, friends and neighbors to join together to walk/run a route as a small group on Thanksgiving Day. Contact Katie Reasoner to sign up your neighborhood or community. Neighborhood Ambassadors will assist in promoting the race route in their neighborhood or community and receive a complimentary race registration.
Community members who cannot join zGRAVY Chase but would like to support the organization are invited to support the Boys & Girls Club of Boone County by making a donation.
The Glow Dance originally scheduled for Friday, March 13 has been postponed until August 29th.
Tickets purchased will still be accepted for the future date. If you would like a refund, please email Glenn Sanford at gsanford@bgcboone.org. We apologize for the inconvenience. The Boys & Girls Club of Boone County is committed to the youth and their health and safety. We are postponing the dance as a pre-cautionary measure. Stay Healthy!
More than 2,650 participants from 24 states and three countries joined together for the 3rd annual ZGravy Chase to benefit the Boys & Girls Club of Boone County. This family-friendly event welcomed strollers, dogs and participants ranging in age from infant to 87 years old! The 2.0- and 4.4-mile course started and finished on the historic cobblestone Main Street of Zionsville.
In the 2.0-mile division, Mike Cole was the first male across the finish line in 10:50.95 followed by the female runner, Azmi Carlson with a time of 13:43.53. On the long course, in the male division, Jackson Martin crossed the finish line in 20:12.25 and Tamara Nelson took home the female honor with a time of 27:21.70.
“Our goal in starting this event was to create a lasting revenue source for the Club and the youth in our community, especially those who need us most. In addition, we wanted to bring a race to Boone County to start a new family and friends tradition on Thanksgiving Day that will remind us how thankful we are for this community and all of the individuals that help make this a great place to live, work and play.
As the board president, I am overwhelmed by the hard work and generosity of the staff, volunteers, sponsors, Town of Zionsville, and thousands of participants. ZGravy Chase is truly a community-wide event! Race Maker Productions took a chance on promoting our event in 2017 and has been an incredible partner helping to produce and grow ZGravy Chase.”
Rob Schein, Board President for the Boys & Girls Club of Boone County
The Boys & Girls Club of Boone County serves more than 450 kids every day in Lebanon, Whitestown and Zionsville with before and after school programs. In addition, the Club offers sports leagues, summer camps and community activities for our youth serving more than 3,000 kids each year. In the Lebanon Unit, the Club feeds an average of 85 Club kids each day. The mission and core beliefs of Boys & Girls Clubs fuel our commitment to promoting safe, positive and inclusive environments for all.
Significant funds are needed to sustain daily Club operations. Forty-eight percent of the $1.56 million budget is raised from special events, corporate support, individual donations and grants. Proceeds from the ZGravy Chase race will go directly to serve the youth in our community. This year’s event raised more than $75,000 to fill the $409 gap between membership fees and the cost of running the Clubs.
ZGravy Chase kicks off our end of year giving campaign. The Club has two anonymous donors who have pledged $35,000 in matching funds. The goal is to raise $150,000 between Thanksgiving and New Year’s to serve the youth in our community.
The Boys & Girls Club of Boone County (BGCBoone) hosted the 36th Annual “Tee It Up for the Kids” golf outing on Friday, August 2 at the Golf Club of Indiana. This year’s event marked the 10th year Ameriprise Financial Endeavor Group, has been the presenting sponsor.
Eric Bilitz, President of the Endeavor Group states, “How can you beat a day like today when you get to play golf for the benefit of the kids in the community and the organization who mission is to help those kids be the best they can be?” In addition to the presenting sponsorship for the golf outing, Ameriprise has been contributing to the Club for 20 years, supporting sports, capital projects and the annual campaign.
This year’s event was the first joint golf outing since the merger of the Lebanon Area Boys & Girls Club and the Boys & Girls Club of Zionsville into the Boy & Girls Club of Boone County. The outing raised more funds for the youth in the county than the independent outings have raised in past years, over $25,000. Rob Schein, BGCBoone board president states, “Thanks to partners such as Ameriprise, the Club is able to keep our member fees low in order to serve all the youth of Boone County. 48% of the $1.56 million budget is raised through special events, corporate sponsors, individual donations and grants.”
The Boys & Girls Club of Boone County– Lebanon, Whitestown and Zionsville– serves 425 members daily and currently has 3000 total members. In addition to their daily programming, they offer sports leagues and summer camps. In Lebanon, they feed an average of 85 kids, five days a week. Without the meal provided by the Club, most of the kids would go hungry until school the next day. The mission of the Boys & Girls Club of Boone County is to enable all area youth, especially those that need them most, to develop the skills, fitness, and character they need to reach their full potential as productive, caring, and responsible citizens.
In addition to Ameriprise, Global Plastics and PWG/Levitetz Family Foundation were presenting sponsors for the event. 120 golfers enjoyed a beautiful day on the course with box lunches and a post golf cookout in the Clubhouse. The Florida scramble format with a putting contest, game cards, silent auction and a raffle were enjoyed by the golfers. We look forward to hosting the 37th annual event in August of 2020.
