Ross Dress for Less in the Durango Mall has partnered with The Boys & Girls Club of La Plata County to join a nationwide fundraising effort through Feb. 25 to assist youths with academic achievement and life skills.
Since Feb. 3, retail employees at Ross have been inviting customers at checkout to donate $1, $3, $5 or an amount of their choosing to support Boys & Girls Club programs, and those who donate $5 or more will receive a Boys & Girls Club wristband. The Durango store has a goal to raise $900 for the La Plata County club. Ross will match up to $400,000 of donations made nationwide at the end of the fundraising promotion, and distribute funds to Boys & Girls Clubs closest to store locations.
“Like many nonprofits in our community, we gratefully benefit from the generous leadership investment of our local business owners,” said Kathrene Frautschy, director of development for Boys & Girls Club of La Plata County. “At the same time, we are delighted that Ross, a national retail chain committed to advancing youth-development programs, makes a valuable difference for kids across the county, including Durango.”
The donation drive is held annually at Ross stores across the country, though it’s the first year the partnership has been available in La Plata County because the Durango store opened in mid-July. Funds will be split, with 80 percent donated directly to local clubs, such as the Boys & Girls Club of La Plata County, and 20 percent donated to the club’s national homework-focus “Power Hour” program.
Last year, the national donation promotion raised $3 million for club programs.
Donations are given to the club based on the idea that investing in local young people is a way for people to simultaneously invest in their community’s future. Every day, more than 8,000 local students leave school with the risk of being unsupervised, unguided and unsafe, and the Boys & Girls Club aims to remedy that fact.
“We’re looking forward to this being annual opportunity for shoppers in the area,” Frautschy added.
Ross Dress for Less is located in the Durango Mall, 800 S. Camino del Rio, Suite 7A.
For more information, visit http://bit.ly/2nWs2yx.
fstone@durangoherald.com
