As West End House begins a preliminary phase of a comprehensive campaign, two members of its Board of Directors have committed leadership level gifts in support of the Club’s expansion plans. Charles Rodgers, past Board President, and his wife Fran have pledged $1 million in support of expanded arts programming. Long-time West End House,supporters Harold Brown, Maura Nolan Brown and Jameson Brown have committed,$1 million through the Hamilton Company Charitable Foundation to support both the,physical expansion of the Club and its program growth.
Jameson Brown, Chairman of the Hamilton Company Charitable Foundation, announced the Foundation’s gift: “West End House is a very special place, and we are glad that we are able to contribute to its ongoing and future success.”
With this incredibly generous support, West End House is moving forward with a plan that calls for renovation of the building in addition to construction of a two-story, 4,000 square foot addition. The plans will provide the necessary resources, staffing, and capacity to grow our innovative and responsive programming.
“West End House is evolving to meet the needs of all youth,” said past Board President Charles Rodgers. “Fran and I are excited to see the organization continue to grow and reach new heights.”
These gifts will help West End House rebalance space within the facility to accommodate the increasing number of young people that participate in our high impact programs. Over the past five years, membership has grown by 50% to more than 1,500 youth annually. The increase in membership reflects a growing trend of high school teens joining for the first time. West End House is currently in the top 2% of Boys & Girls Clubs nationwide in terms of the number of teens served through its extensive programming.
These contributions will greatly benefit all of our youth, but will especially support our teens as we plan to create an entire wing dedicated to academic and social programming that will allow them to explore college and career opportunities.
“These extraordinary philanthropic investments by long-time supporters positions West End House for critical growth,” says West End House Board President Andrew Musto. “We are deeply grateful to the Browns and the Hamilton Company Charitable Foundation, and to Charles and Fran Rodgers for stepping up with such significant and generous contributions at this early stage of our campaign effort.”
