Make sure to head over to our Facebook page to check out the new timeline format and to stay in touch with what’s going on at the Club! We will post pictures and information there a few times a week. Everything you need to know about Boys & Girls Club of Columbia Missouri will still be available there. Questions? Comments? Concerns? Want to volunteer/donate? Just write on our wall or send us a message and we will respond as soon as possible!!

We are only 10 days away from winning $100,000 for Boys & Girls Club of the Columbia Area! Now more than ever, we need your votes! Remember, you can vote daily for Coach Haith at www.espn.com/infiniti. The final round of voting will run from Feb. 27th to March 8th. Thanks for all your support so far, now lets bring home the $100,000 to build a new gymnasium!

The final numbers are in! We raised $62,600 (and counting!) for Boys & Girls Club of the Columbia Area!!

48 teams and a crowd of roughly 2,000 came out to enjoy the event. To all that attended, we greatly appreciate your support!

The Angry Birds were there

There were pirates

and Elvis was in the building!

To see all pictures from the event, look at our Facebook page, or visit http://columbiahappenings.shutterfly.com/.

TODAY’S THE DAY!

Make sure to come out to the Holiday Inn Expo Center and support Boys & Girls Club of Columbia! Tickets are still available at the door!

The 7th Annual Rootin’-Tootin’ Chili Cookoff is just around the corner! On Saturday, February 18th, 51 teams will compete for the title of “Grand Chili Champion.”

The Rootin’-Tootin’ Chili Cookoff is the largest chili competition in Columbia,  and is open to any team that wants to test their secret chili recipe. Teams are also encouraged to decorate their booths and dress up in themes. Teams compete for the Grand Chili Champion, People’s Choice, the Biggest Bowl, and the Best Booth awards. All proceeds from this family friendly event benefit the Boys & Girls Club of Columbia, a youth development organization that provides after-school programs for all kids.

In 2011 50 teams competed, and with a crowd of 1500 people we raised $65,000 for Columbia’s youth.
The public is warmly welcomed to this event; Doors are open to the public from 4p.m. to 7p.m. and tickets are $10 ahead of time or $12 at the door. You can purchase tickets today through the Boys & Girls Club at 1002 Fay St. in Columbia, through any competing teams, or visit www.rtchilicookoff.com/There will be live music from the Kansas City Street Band and Primitive Soul, plenty of drinks, and of course, CHILI!

2012 Sponsors include: MFA Oil, MBS Textbook Exchange, Taco Bell, The Callaway Bank, Columbia Daily Tribune, Columbia Credit Union, Corporate Identi-Ts, Midway Electric, Sam’s Club, KTGR, Mediacom, Commerce Bank, Mastertech Plumbing Heating and Cooling, S&S DJ, Sports Zone Restaurant and Grill, Dak Dillion Photography, Columbia Business Times, Eagle 93.9, Kilgore’s Medical Pharmacy, Midwest Computech, ABC Supply, CenturyLink, Columbia Turf and Landscape, CORE20, Kohl’s, Landmark Bank, MeM, Missouri Credit Union, Mountain Valley Spring Water, Shelter Insurance

From January 18th to March 8th, Infiniti is helping 48 of the nation’s top college basketball coaches compete to raise money for charities in the Infiniti Coaches’ Charity Challenge. Coaches will count on their network of fans, alumni, students, faculty, and charities to advance to the finals. School supporters will have a chance to vote daily for their favorite coach in each of the four regions – East, South, West, and Midwest.

The University of Missouri and Head Men’s Basketball Coach, Frank Haith, are competing in the Infiniti Coaches’ Charity Challenge for a chance to win $100,000 benefiting Boys & Girls Club of the Columbia Area. Voting begins today (1/18) at espn.com/infiniti. Please take the time to vote for Coach Haith in the SOUTH REGION to support the University of Missouri and Boys & Girls Club of the Columbia Area.

Everyone can vote; all you need is an espn.com account. Don’t have an espn.com account yet? All you need is a valid email address.
Voting is allowed once per day starting now until Feb. 27th.

Infiniti, a proud corporate partner of NCAA Men’s Basketball, will donate $5,000 to each participating coach’s selected charity. The coach who receives the most votes will win $100,000, which will be awarded to his select charity.

For more than a decade, JCPenney has been the leading corporate advocate for the afterschool issue by distributing more than $100 million to life-enriching programs across every JCPenney community. With schools facing cuts in education and resources – coupled with the fact that one in four students in the U.S. is unsupervised between 3pm and 6pm – there’s never been a more important time to advance the afterschool agenda and help narrow the education gap. From November 30-December 12, JCPenney at the Columbia Mall invited its customers to turn small change into pennies from heaven. By simply rounding up their purchases and donating the difference to Boys & Girls Club of the Columbia Area, customers helped make a big difference for kids in our community. Through our partnership with the Columbia Mall JCPenney, Boys & Girls Club of the Columbia Area received $18,793.67 in round-up donations this year alone.

Shortly after the conclusion of the Groundbreaking Ceremony for the new Youth Development Center, University of Missouri head Women’s Basketball Coach, Robin Pingeton, took an interview with the new Mizzou Network. Pingeton took time to speak about the Boys & Girls Club of the Columbia Area, “It’s just an unbelieveable opportunity to really help young kids get on the right track. You know, there’s all different kids from all different backgrounds, all different walks of life, and some of them just need opportunities like this to be a part of something, to be involved, to have a place to go that’s a safe, and a productive environment.” Pingeton also notes that she and the rest of the team are looking forward to getting more involved with the Club.

Watch the full interview here.

Boys & Girls Club of the Columbia Area wishes to extend a large amount of gratitude to John Cleek and Aaron’s for donating tickets to the Mizzou vs. Texas A&M men’s basketball game on Monday, January 16th. The youth were very excited for the opportunity to see the team play, once again.

On Friday December 16th youth from the Boys and Girls Club of the Columbia Area volunteered, as a service project, at the Downtown Optimist Club Christmas Tree Lot. The Optimist Club has been instrumental in supporting the youth of our community, so this is one way that our youth can give back.