Bellport Beach Ball Raises $330,000 for Boys & Girls Club
The Boys & Girls Club of the Bellport Area’s annual benefit, the Beach Ball, broke fundraising records in its 12th year.
Alexandra Lebenthal and Jay Diamond opened their bayfront home on the evening of June 20 to around 550 people for the event, where more than $330,000 was raised for the nonprofit.
The Boys & Girls Club executive director Tracie Romandetti introduced the club’s 2015 Youth of the Year, Christina Colas, who expressed her gratitude toward the club and the importance of everything it has offered to her in her life.
“The Boys & Girls Club came through to me at a point in my life where I needed an escape. Just knowing that I had a group of people care about me put a smile on my face in times of darkness,” Colas says.
The evening continued with a live and silent auction held by Christie’s benefit auctioneer Lydia Fenet and in the theme of The Art of Summer, during which Lebenthal donated $8,000 for a Grucci Fireworks show at next year’s Beach Ball.
Prizes of the evening also included a package of four VIP tickets to the Global Citizen Festival with VIP performances including Ed Sheeran, which sold for $10,000.
The night finished with a private fireworks show.
All of the proceeds from the Beach Ball contribute to the expenses and positive experiences of the Boys & Girls Clubhouse, which includes more than 700 youth, ages 5 through 19.
The Boys & Girls Club of the Bellport Area has been operating since 1965 with the mission to inspire and enable children of the Bellport area and South Shore to learn, grow and feel a sense of belonging and community.
For more information on the Beach Ball event and The Boys & Girls Club of the Bellport Area visit bgcbellport.org.