Boys & Girls Clubs of Toledo
continues Christmas tradition

TOLEDO – The Clubs celebrated their 134th annual Trustees Christmas Party Dec. 10 and 11, with 7 to 12-year-old members by taking over Imagination Station. Cleveland-Cliffs and Nysus Solutions presented the event with support from Owens Corning. Our members gathered at their home Clubs for dinner, raffle prizes and to pick out a new winter coat, courtesy of Care for Kids.

On Dec. 18, the Taco Bell Foundation presented a separate teen takeover Christmas celebration at Funagin’s. Our older members enjoyed roller skating, laser tag, tacos and raffle prizes.

Members of all ages received a goody bag filled with items provided by Bollin Label, Burger King, Connecting Kids to Meals, Destination Toledo, Imagination Station, Johnston Fruit Farms, Meijer #117, Metroparks Toledo, Metzgers, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Rally's, Doug and Marianne Schoenrock, Signature Bank and WTOL.

In the often-hurried holiday season, our Christmas parties serve as a reminder of a season of joy, kindness, and generosity – and a chance to see the season through the eyes of children.

Boys & Girls Clubs of Toledo traces its origins to Christmas, 1892, when Toledo businessman John Gunckel invited more than 100 newsboys for dinner. That one dinner launched what would become one of Toledo’s oldest youth-serving organizations.

The smiles, energy and excitement are contagious, with our staff and volunteers often citing the annual Christmas parties as their favorite Club experience of the year.