Boys & Girls Club Receives $25,000 Donation for New Van

$25,000 for a new van

Thursday afternoon, the received donations totaling $25,000 from several area businesses and organizations.

Among the donors were the , the Bruins Alumni Association, , and , raised through the profits of the 99 Legends vs. Bruins Alumni Game that took place in March.

The $25,000 will be used to purchase a new van for the Boys & Girls Club, a tool the club has desperately needed to provide travel opportunities to their members and to pick kids up after school.

“We are very grateful to the 99, Stoneham Bank, Stoneham Ford, Eastern Bank and the Bruins Alumni for their generous gift,” said Interim Director at the Boys & Girls Club, Gerry Deviller. “This van has been a dream for us for 20 years and now it's a reality.”

Donna Divirgilio, director of the Boys & Girls Club of Stoneham, said, “We are so ecstatic, it's been a long time coming for this transportation. We haven't been able to participate with other Boys & Girls Clubs in the area, but we expect that to change now, we will even be able to pick kids up after school … it's a huge step forward for us.”

Randy Suckney, organizer of the for the 99 presented the check to the club, said, “The Boys & Girls Club of Stoneham is our number one sponsor. It has been a great partnership between all involved and really took a community effort to secure the van for the kids.”

Suckney mentioned that there are already plans for another fundraising game between the 99 Legends and the Bruins Alumni sometime next year, although no exact date has been set.

A special guest

Rick Middleton, Bruins Alumni Association president and former player from 1973-88, visited the Boys & Girls Club to oversee the event. Middleton signed autographs, took pictures, met and shared stories with the kids, and finished off his visit with a few games of street hockey in the gym.

Middleton expressed his thoughts toward the Boys & Girls Club and why the organization is important to him when he said, “I'm a big believer in Boys & Girls Clubs. I grew up in Toronto and we didn't have places like this, so, we tried to make our neighborhoods into places like the Boys & Girls Club here. Now, it's great to have this place to go after school and a place to encourage sports.”

Middleton also expressed his excitement over the new season for the Boston Bruins Alumni. While exact dates haven't been released yet, Middleton mentioned October as a time when the team will be back stateside after playing some games over in Europe. Check out the Bruins Alumni schedule as the season nears and for more information on the team.

A response from the kids

Two Boston Bruins mega-fans, and Boys & Girls Club regulars, eighth graders, Ashley Doherty and Taylor Schon, expressed their appreciation for the new van and why they enjoy coming to the Boys & Girls Club.

“I like the Boys & Girls Club so much because of the different variety of sports to play here," Doherty said. "Usually, all the other [Boys & Girls Clubs] had to come to us. Now we can go to them!”

Taylor added, “We missed an important hockey game last year because we couldn't travel to them and they couldn't come to us, but now we can.”