Boys & Girls Clubs Inaugural Polo Day A Huge Success
WELLINGTON, FL (March 11, 2014) – The International Polo Club Palm Beach and Grand Champions Polo Club celebrated the Neil S. Hirsch Family Boys & Girls Club and honored its namesake with a day of Polo on Sunday, March 9th. This first time event raised over $175,000 for the local Wellington Club.
The Boys & Girls Club Polo Day kicked off with a celebrity, three team, round robin polo match featuring Honorary Event Chairs, Ralph Lauren’s ‘face of Polo’ Ignacio “Nacho” Figueras and America’s Most Wanted star John Walsh at Grand Champions Polo Club. The 10 am celebrity polo match was followed by a 12:30 pm brunch at the International Polo Club Palm Beach with over 170 guests. A silent & live auction was included in the day’s festivities.
Club children were an integral part of the celebration, including singing the national anthem live at both polo events, many of the children experiencing polo for the very first time. Club member Des’ree Day, age 15, spoke poignantly to brunch attendees about the Club’s influence in her life. “Des’ree is just one example of how the Boys & Girls Clubs are working to change these children’s lives,” said Jaene Miranda, President and CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Palm Beach County. “I am thrilled with the support of the polo community rallying around our organization and its mission in Wellington.”
Miranda credited the success of the inaugural event to the chairmen Melissa and Marc Ganzi, Terrie and Ray Mooney, and Keith and Penny Williams, and the Wellington Club’s namesake, Neil Hirsch. The 2015 event is in the planning stages with hopes of exceeding the accomplishments of this year’s event.
Proceeds from the day’s events benefit the Neil S. Hirsch Family Boys & Girls Clubs of Wellington, one of 13 Boys & Girls Clubs of Palm Beach County. This Clubs provide services during non-school hours, as well as summer camp opportunities, to nearly 6,000 boys and girls from ages 6 to 18 throughout the County. Clubs emphasize educational, vocational, social, recreational, health, leadership, and character-building skills in a positive and safe atmosphere. Through quality programs, the Club experience provides children with the guidance they need to make a healthy transition from childhood to young adulthood.
For more information about the Boys & Girls Clubs of Palm Beach County, please call 561-847-6221 or visit www.bgcpbc.org.
