George’s Gyros Spot Helping to Build a New Duneland Club

Georges-Gyros-Spot-Helping-to-Build-a-New-Duneland-ClubWhen Paul Pallas, owner of George’s Gyros Spot learned about Boys & Girls Clubs of Porter County’s Duneland Club’s Capital Campaign, he knew he wanted to be part of this initiative. “The Club offers so many opportunities for children,” states Pallas. “When I heard about this Capital Campaign, I knew this was something big for our community.”

From this moment, Paul Pallas went into action by contacting Boys & Girls Clubs of Porter County’s president, Ryan Smiley. “Paul was excited to become part of our Boys & Girls Clubs’ family. He wanted to be able to give to our capital campaign in a way that was personal for him. His gift to us was unique; not only did he make a financial contribution but Paul created strong community awareness of our campaign and plans. We saw a significant increase in our web traffic and received numerous inquiries as a result of his promotions of our Club at George’s.”

Beginning in July 2015, Paul Pallas donated a percentage of proceeds to the Duneland Club’s Capital Campaign from every Monday throughout the entire summer. All a person had to say when placing their order was “I want to help build a new Duneland Club,” and 10% of their purchase was donated. At the end of the summer, Pallas presented $800 to the Duneland Club and many excited Club members! In addition, Paul passed out unlimited free ice cream coupons to the Club kids throughout the summer months.

“His passion for our new Club is the impetus for our business campaign initiative, ‘Duneland Businesses – Investing in Great Futures,’” states Joe Juarez, club director for the Duneland Boys & Girls Club. “Paul is an example for all Chesterton businesses who want to become involved in this campaign. His enthusiasm for our new and renovated Club is catching on with our very own Club members who now want to give to the campaign with their own resources. We teach our kids about leadership and good character and citizenship, all I have to do is use Paul Pallas and George’s Gyros Spot as an example – and our Club kids understand,” Juarez states further.

Boys & Girls Clubs of Porter County’s Duneland Club’s Capital Campaign has raised 78% of its $4 million goal. “We are getting close and now it is time to start planning our ground breaking in early 2016,” states Smiley. “This is such an exciting opportunity for Chesterton. We have been waiting to bring this new and expanded Club with state-of-the-art amenities to this community. The kids of Chesterton deserve this; but we cannot do it alone, we need our communities help.” The next phase of the Duneland capital campaign is focused on engaging Chesterton’s local business community. “Duneland Businesses-Investing in Great Futures” will run throughout the month of November. “Our staff and volunteers will be out talking about how this investment in our community is mutually beneficial to the economic impact on Chesterton, states Smiley.” Local business owners are invited to tour the Club and learn more about what it does for children and families in their community. “We are asking our business owners to partner with us and help make this dream a reality,” Smiley states. “The ‘Duneland Businesses – Investing in Great Futures’ campaign is about working together to promote not only the Club but the community as a whole. Sharing of resources includes not just a monetary donation, but time and talent too. The Club always welcomes volunteers and other resources to maintain and sustain operations. If it takes a village to raise a child, then it’s going to take the entire town of Chesterton to raise generations of kids for years to come,” Smiley said.

To learn more about the Duneland Club’s capital campaign or to view the facility plans online, visit bgcpoco.org/newclub.

For more than forty years, Boys & Girls Clubs of Porter County (bgcpoco.org) has enabled young people to achieve GREAT futures as productive, caring, and responsible citizens. Four Club sites and nine Kidstop locations throughout Porter County serve nearly 5,000 young people annually through Club membership and community outreach. Boys & Girls Clubs of Porter County provides a safe place, caring adult mentors, fun, friendship, and high-impact youth development programs on a daily basis during critical non-school hours. Priority programs emphasize academic success, good character and citizenship, and healthy lifestyles. When school is out, our Clubs are in!