Shelton, CT, June 10, 2024 – Wednesday, June 5th around four thirty in the afternoon, the Auxiliary Gym at the Raymond P. Lavietes Clubhouse (Boys & Girls Club of the Lower Naugatuck Valley) in Shelton was a buzz. The room was decorated to look like an Italian picnic with red checkered tablecloths, flowers arranged in tomato sauce cans, napkins with accents of lemons, a buffet table that spanned the length of the entire room, and a larger than life red, white and green sign that read “AriBella Restaurant at the Club”.
Dino and Aida Cecunjanin, owners of AriBella Italian Restaurant and friends of the Club, had it on their hearts to do something special for the members. They felt it necessary to do something that directly benefited the kids, and what better way to give than with a delicious buffet of Italian food. Inspired by their giving, the staff at the Lavietes Clubhouse put the extra details into the afternoon to treat the Club members to a full senses experience for the core memory bank. When the kids filed into the room not only could you hear their gasps of excitement and cheer, but you could feel their energy. The energy filled the room quickly, followed by a transition into background music and the most genuine commentary of “this is the best pasta ever,” “can I have seconds” and “this is so cool”.
Partnerships such as AriBella’s are received with the utmost gratitude by Boys & Girls Club of the Lower Naugatuck Valley. Not only do such connections first and foremost benefit our members, but they genuinely come full circle by enriching the community.
AriBella said it best when they recapped the exciting afternoon on social media saying, “When we give cheerfully and accept gratefully, everyone is blessed”.
Christopher Douglas, the Club’s Board President, recapped the afternoon saying, “The food spread that Aribella’s delivered to our Club for our kids was amazing! The kids thoroughly enjoyed it! We are grateful to Dino, Aida and their family for their generosity and genuine caring”.
With over 65 years of service to the Naugatuck Valley community, the mission of Boys & Girls Club of the Lower Naugatuck Valley remains the same- to provide, in a safe environment, programs that inspire, educate, guide, and enable all young people, to realize their full potential as productive, responsible, and caring citizens. By partnering with the Boys & Girls Club of the Lower Naugatuck Valley you are supporting the community at large. With your support, the community is motivated and inspired.
The annual cost to provide the array of programming the Boys & Girls Club offers to our 2200+ members is more than $1,500 per child. To remain affordable and accessible to all, we must rely on the generosity of donors to support our day-to-day cost of program delivery. Your contributions to the Club will make a difference to the youth we serve.
Interested in being involved with the Club? Please reach out to Nicole Stere at NicoleStere@BGC-LNV-org. For more information about the Boys & Girls Club of the Lower Naugatuck Valley, please visit: bgc-lnv.org.
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