Boys & Girls Club Blog

August 21, 2024

On August 15, the Boys & Girls Club held its 14th annual Afternoon Tea event at The Gibson Social Club. The tea event is part of the Character & Empowerment program designed for the young ladies of the Club, ages 7-10.

Every summer, about 50 Club girls join the program and attend six classes, taught by organizations and friends of the Club, that build positive character and leadership skills. This year’s classes focused on wellness, self-love, confidence, leadership and persistence and more.

The Afternoon Tea event, presented by Kimberly-Clark Foundation, was the final celebration of the program. Club girls and women in our community came together to sip tea, enjoy a light lunch, get to know each other, and celebrate the girls’ completion of the classes. The girls got to feel extra special by picking out a brand-new sundress and flip-flops and getting their hair styled.

The event featured a positive and inspiring message from speaker, Megan Roberson. Megan is in her 3rd year in professional sports with the Green Bay Packers focusing on large-scale events at Lambeau Field such as the NFL Draft in 2025, and making preparations to be a Team Base Camp for the FIFA World Cup in 2026. Originally from North Carolina, Megan connected with Club girls over a mutual love of Taylor Swift as she spoke about the Eras of her life that brought her to where she is today. She left them with some key reminders:

• You’re (not) on Your Own, Kid – Continue to lean on your support system
• It is okay to have times that feel like Blank Space(s) in your journey – Sometimes things don’t work out like you hoped they would, and that’s okay. They are all stepping stones in your journey.
• The worst thing you can hear is no, and all you have to do is Shake It Off – No is sometimes the best thing you can hear.
• Don’t ever feel like You Need to Calm Down – Go after what you want and make it happen!
• You are GORGEOUS – You are beautiful, smart, and can change this world. Now go out and do it!

Our Youth of the Year, Mercy, rounded out the day with a talk about bravery as she spoke about coming to the U.S. from Nigeria, being motivated to excel in school, be a leader (she’s a 4.0 student and president of the Club’s Keystone Leadership Club) and getting accepted to UW Madison.

We are excited to enter the 15th year of this program in 2025! Our founding sponsor and Club friend, Helaine Lasky, has been a vital partner in making the program possible for all these years, helping over 550 girls become confident, wonderful young ladies.

Thank you to Presenting Sponsor Kimberly-Clark, speaker Megan Roberson of the Green Bay Packers, and all our Afternoon Tea Sponsors, guests and volunteers who made this event extra special!

Thank you to all our sponsors:

Leader/Presenting: Kimberly-Clark; Dreamer: Helaine Lasky; Empower: Oshkosh Corporation; Speaker: Silver Star Brands and Theda & Tamblin Clark Smith Family Foundation; Inspiration: Oshkosh Area Women’s Fund; Great Futures: Shea Electric & Communications LLC; Sun Dress: Sheldon & Lori Lasky, Old National Bank and Oshkosh Area Women’s Association; Flip Flop: Bob & Sidonia Burnell, Fox River Valley Ethanol, Jason & Courtney Lasky, Laurie Muller, Old Navy, Omni Glass & Paint, Oshkosh Area Women’s Association, Senior Stride Home Care and The Howard; Class: Chrys Hyde, Kaldas Center, Merchant’s Choice Card Services LLC, Wells Fargo and a Friend of the Club.

Thank you to our Venue Sponsor, The Gibson Social Club (especially Jessie and Will), and our Luncheon Sponsor, Becket’s (Kris and team). Thank you to the stylists who did girls’ hair: Savanni Lenhard from Family Values Hair Salon, Mandy Michalski from Salon Avana, Francesca Matox from Cesca Hairstyles, LLC, Mariah Schultz, Jennie Spanbauer & Kim Wallace from Starstruck Artistry, Cara Schuhart and Heather Wessley Thank you to Insomnia Cookies and Faris Popcorn for donating treats for our girls to enjoy! Thank you to those that ran Character & Empowerment Classes this summer: S.P.A.R.K., Oshkosh Service League & Gina from Arise Balanced Wellness, Daphne VanBuren of Kimberly-Clark, Braelee Jodarski, and Oshkosh Corporation.

A special thank you to Dick Nelson of Marco Promos and all those that sponsored girls:

Nancy Albright
Denise Bittner
Judith Britton
Lorie Bunke
Kathy Chapman
Kris Coakley
Kathleen Daniels
Diana Drew
Karen Dustrude
Helen M Evans
Heather Foust
Judith Hartman
Barbara Herzog
Carol Kujawa
Lisa & Carl Londowski
Sue McFarlane
Thomas M Mulloy
Donna Nelson
Oshkosh Herald
Kathryn Pfaendtner
Barbara Salemi
Donna Rieckman
Peg Wachtel
Dorothy Witzke
Theda Jessen & Olivia Ehrbar – in honor of Bill Radford

If you are interested in finding out more about how you can get involved in next year’s Character, Empowerment & Afternoon Tea program, please contact our Director of Development, Bonnie Behnke, at (920) 233-1414, ext. 129 or bonnieb@bgcosh.org. Learn more on our website at bgcosh.org/afternoon-tea.

See more photos from Afternoon Tea on our Facebook page!