'Epic' donation brings big smiles

In what the club director described as an "epic day" for the organization, the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Lewis Clark Valley received the largest donation in its history Thursday - a $1 million gift.

The donation came from local business owners and club supporters Gary and Jutta Hughes.

"This is probably the single-most historic day in the history of this organization," said Jon Evans, the club's executive director, at the Clarkston-based club.

The latest donation likely is twice that of the largest previous one, Evans said.

The couple have been involved with the clubs for decades. Gary first joined in the mid-1990s. Jutta was awarded director emeritus status in 2005 after serving as a board member and twice leading the club's annual auction.

For the past 15 to 20 years, according to Gary, he and his wife have provided approximately $40,000 a year of support to underprivileged children, allowing them to use the club. Kids on the free- and reduced-lunch program could come to the Hughes' ColorTyme store to receive a coupon for free membership.

Now the $1 million gift will keep going in perpetuity.

"As part of our overall philosophy, along with charter requirements from Boys and Girls Clubs of America, our dues are low and affordable for all," Board President Mike MacDowell said in a news release. "However, there are still folks who need additional assistance, and thanks to Gary and Jutta, this gift will play a major role in helping us to achieve this year in and year out, and for many years to come."

The Hughes operate businesses in nine states. The corporate office is located in the area, but less than 10 percent of the revenue comes from the L-C Valley.

"A lot of what we have been able to contribute here locally has been generated from outside the community," he said.

The clubs are important to Gary, who was a club member as a child at the Greenwood Boys Club in Seattle.

"In my line of work, we've seen lots of underprivileged kids," Gary said. "Without the boys and girls club, they'd be getting into trouble."

He encouraged others to also get behind the clubs.

"(The clubs) do more good for the community than you can possibly imagine," he said.

The donation is structured to provide program and membership scholarship assistance to the families who need it the most. It will generate about $40,000 each year to help with those costs.

Brad Rice, a member of the Lewiston School Board and a board member for the clubs, said the "whopper of a donation" will help countless kids.

"They've been supportive for so long that this really solidifies, basically, the support they've given into the future," he said.

The Boys and Girls Clubs of the Lewis Clark Valley have served kids since 1945. The three locations in Lewiston, Clarkston and Lapwai serve more than 4,200 members each year, with an average daily attendance during the school year of about 500. In the summer, numbers increase to about 700 kids each day.

Evans said the Hughes have always been there to help.

"No matter what has happened at the clubs - whether it's a good or bad time - they've always had a heart for the kids, especially those who need it most," he said.

The organization's annual budget is $2 million. In the past year, the organization received $141,000 worth of requests for scholarship support.

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Tomtas may be contacted at jtomtas@lmtribune.com or at (208) 848-2294.