Top 10 Firm CliftonLarsonAllen announced that its CLA Foundation granted $100,000 to help start a new Boys & Girls Club of America club in Uvalde, Texas, in the aftermath of a deadly school shooting last year.
The Boys & Girls Club offers afterschool programs and summer activities to over 4.3 million young people across the United States, notably assisting students with homework and offering numerous activities in sports or the arts. In addition to the grant, CLA awarded the organization $45,000 worth of items to equip its academic center to support the Uvalde community, which is still recovering from the shooting at Robb Elementary School that claimed the lives of 19 children and two teachers last May.
"We are thrilled to build out a new Boys & Girls Club in Uvalde, supporting the community during such a critical time," said Doug Wells, Boys & Girls Clubs of America interim vice president, in a statement. "CLA's financial resources and services greatly enhance our ability to serve young people and families in Uvalde and we deeply appreciate their efforts."
It's not the first time that CLA has shown support for the club. Last November, CLA hosted its first advancement conference in Texas where attendees donated books, games and toys for the new clubs. The same month, CLA held an advancement conference where the firm encouraged newcomers to serve the Uvalde community and its 25 school districts. Volunteers packed 1,000 trauma-informed care kits for educators to promote mental and emotional health for students.
In addition, CLA will provide the Boys & Girls Club of Uvalde with accounting and financial services, assist them in their search for a site director, and connect them to clients offering mental health services.
"When longtime CLA client Boys & Girls Clubs of America shared they were proactively opening a club in Uvalde, we immediately asked how we could help," said Kelsey Vatsaas, managing principal of the nonprofit industry at CLA, in a press release. "We're honored to support Boys & Girls Club as it continues to make profound impacts on communities it serves."
