Our Views: United Way’s Contribution to Boys and Girls Club Significant

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Last Saturday, hundreds made the drive to the Lucky Eagle Casino to take part in what has become one of the finest annual fundraisers in the region. 

At Chef’s Night Out, attendees wore glamorous dresses and dapper suits in acknowledgement of the night’s theme, the roaring ’20s. Meanwhile, the finest culinary minds in the area dished out appetizers and desserts to thankful participants, who later voted Dawn’s Delectables owner Dawn Lawson as Top Chef in all three categories. 

With all the entertaining festivities, it’s easy to forget the incredible amount of progress that was made in those few short hours in the Rochester casino. 

United Way of Lewis County chose the fledgling Boys and Girls Club of Chehalis as the benefactor of its live auction. For those who have not had the fortune of attending the event, that might seem to be a small gift. 

On the contrary, the live auction is one of the largest annual displays of collective generosity in the region. 

By the end of bidding, more than $100,000 had been raised for the club, which is seeking to fulfill the requirement of raising $1.2 million to cover the cost of a building and the first three years of operation for the county’s first Boys and Girls Club.

“It was an impressive goal to come out with something that was this big,” the club board’s chairman Garth Haakenson told The Chronicle. “I knew this community could do it.”

Security State Bank deserves credit for contributing a quarter of the funds before the first bid was even made. The local financial institution made a $25,000 anchor donation to the cause, a contribution that was announced before the event. 



“We believe in moving the needle here in Lewis County and support United Way’s efforts in breaking the cycle of intergenerational poverty,” bank President Dwayne Aberle said previously. “A Boys and Girls Club program in our community is a benefit for all of us, providing opportunities for children to build successful lives.”

Likewise, the event represents yet another successful display of charitable ingenuity by United Way of Lewis County, led by Executive Director Debbie Campbell, who delegated much of the work at Chef’s Night Out to Resource Development Director Angela French.

On top of the money donated for the Boys and Girls Club, another $50,000 was raised for the dozens of organizations supported by United Way throughout the year. 

The organization has proved itself a committed community partner invested in the well-being of the greater Lewis County area. We’ve seen that in times of disaster and in times of relative peace. 

Chef’s Night Out is yet another example. 

We continue to look forward to the creation of the Boys and Girls Club, and we provide our sincere appreciation to those who have brought the ambitious idea to the promising point that it’s at.