Springfield Boys & Girls Club Surpasses Donor Goal
SPRINGFIELD — Peter A. and Melissa Picknelly set a lofty goal for the Springfield Boys & Girls Club recently. If the club could bring in 150 new donors in the month of September, they would donate $15,000 to the cause. Recently, the club announced that it had secured 184 new donors, who contributed a combined total of $9,102. With the Picknellys’ $15,000 donation, the total raised for the month tops $24,000.
The couple decided to offer this challenge grant in honor of Peter’s late father, Peter L. Picknelly, former president of Peter Ban Bus Lines, who credited much of his personal and professional success to the lessons he learned at the Springfield Boys & Girls Club as a child. “The club was a big part of my father’s life, from the years he spent there as a child to his time as an active member of its board of directors,” said Peter A. Picknelly, who has been a member of the club’s board of directors for 10 years. “Melissa and I are so pleased to see how the community rallied around the club and helped us reach this goal. My father would be very proud.”
Added Sarah Tsitso, executive director of the Springfield Boys & Girls Club, “we are so grateful to all 184 donors who joined us on this journey. It was exciting to have the opportunity to expose a whole new set of people to the important work going on inside the club every day. We can’t thank Peter and Melissa enough for their leadership and generosity. It is truly humbling.”
The Springfield Boys & Girls Club has been a mainstay of youth development in the city for more than 123 years. Its afterschool and summer programs focus on the core areas of academic achievement, health and wellness, and good citizenship. The club serves approximately 1,500 at-risk youth, ages 5 to 18, each year.
