Boys & Girls Club gets a new look in time for Daddy-Daughter Dance

More than 200 Comcast Cares Day volunteers converged on the Monroe Boys & Girls Club (261 Sky River Pkwy.) on Saturday, April 25, performing a variety of improvements and enhancements.

The building was scrubbed from floor to ceiling, fresh paint was added to several rooms, new fixtures were installed in the bathrooms, a new couch was added to the club's teen room, a new reading corner was created and new computers were installed in the technology center.

Outdoor improvements included new landscaping, a new volleyball net and tetherball poles, a backyard picnic area, raised garden beds, floral enhancements and pressure-washed sidewalks.

A few volunteers even came on Friday to get things started.

"We had about 20 yesterday and over 200 today,GÇ¥ said Monroe Boys & Girls Club Unit Director Jeff Rasmussen. "It's incredible.GÇ¥

Comcast Cares Day, which takes place every April, is a national single-day event meant to promote community engagement and facilitate positive change. In addition to being selected as a Comcast Cares Day recipient, the Monroe Boys & Girls Club was also selected to receive a $25,000 health initiative grant from United Way. The grant funding was used to purchase the new computers for the club's technology center and will help facilitate the implementation of new fitness-related programming.

Because the grant was made possible via a partnership between the Comcast Foundation and United Way Worldwide, the two organizations were able to synchronize their efforts so that the technology upgrades could be accomplished at the same time as the rest of the renovations.

Lake Stevens resident Trevor Doleshel has worked at Comcast for 25 years, and has participated in Comcast Cares Day nearly every year since it began in 2001.

"Once they let spouses come, I started coming, too,GÇ¥ said his wife, Renee.

This year, they brought along their two daughters, Abby and Emma, to participate. Trevor served as the team captain, in charge of the games room, which received a new spring-green paint job.

"It's a great opportunity,GÇ¥ Trevor said. "We really enjoy it.GÇ¥

Daddy-daughter dance

And the timing for Cares Day couldn't have been better. The club will have a fresh, new look just in time for the third-annual Daddy Daughter Dance, which will take place at 6 p.m. on Saturday, May 2. The princess-themed event will feature a free 5-by-7-inch photo, a live DJ and chocolate fondue. The cost is $25 per couple and $5 for each additional daughter. All proceeds from the event will go toward supporting the youth programs at the Monroe Boys & Girls Club.

Father and daughters of all ages are welcome to attend the event.

For more information on the Daddy Daughter Dance, visit the Monroe Boys & Girls Club website https://bgcsc.org/daddy-daughter-dance/, or its Facebook page www.facebook.com/MonroeBoysGirlsClub?fref=ts.

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Snohomish County organization is seeking dedicated volunteers to help support its programs. To learn about volunteer opportunities, please contact volunteer@bgcsc.org.