Boys and Girls Club of Americus-Sumter County plans fundraiser

AMERICUS — Familiar faces will be part of the annual Steak and Stake Charity Fundraiser hosted by the Boys and Girls Club of Americus-Sumter County later this month.

The 19th annual event will be held at the Georgia Southwestern State University Success Center Storm Dome on July 25, beginning with a dinner at 6 p.m. The club’s youths will be featured, along with former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and First Lady Rosalynn Carter, and other state and Americus-area dignitaries.

The keynote speaker will be state Rep. Stacey Abrams, D-Atlanta, the minority leader of the Georgia House of Representatives and a Democratic candidate for governor.

“We are not endorsing her for governor,” said Shirley Green-Reese, the board president for the Americus-based Boys and Girls Club. “We don’t want to be political. We just want to (present) her as a speaker, just like everyone else.”

Karla Heath-Sands will serve as the mistress of ceremonies for the event, which will also include an appearance by 2016 “Americus Idol” winner Valerie Bey. Twenty tickets have been given to each of the 15 board members with a goal of getting 500 people in the door for an event that last year saw a full house and raised more than $30,000.

“We are looking for a great crowd, and sponsorships are still available,” Green-Reese said. “This year, we are really trying to fill it up with 500 people if we can.”

Tickets are available for $75, with sponsorship levels available. Proceeds from the event will go to help keep the club’s Macon County, Bill Harris, Furlow, and Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter units running.

“I’m just delighted,” Green-Reese. “On behalf of the board members and volunteers who make a difference, we are looking forward to a good time.”

Abrams holds degrees from Spelman College, the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas and Yale Law School. She is the founder of the New Georgia Project, which registered 200,000 voters from 2014 to 2016.

Abrams is a recipient of the Friend of Labor Award. She is a lifetime member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and she has received recognition from the Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Asian Americans Advancing Justice, the National Urban League and Planned Parenthood. She is the first-ever recipient of the EMILY’s List Gabrielle Giffords Rising Star Award, was named a Harry S. Truman Scholar and is the recipient of the John F. Kennedy New Frontier Award.

Five sponsorship levels are available, ranging from “Bronze” (for $1,000) to “Titanium” ($5,000 or more).

A silent auction will not be conducted this year. Tickets are required to be reserved in advance by Friday, Green-Reese said.

For more information, contact Green-Reese at (229) 938-3300, Andrea Sartiano at (229) 331-0217 or Susan Ruckman at (229) 942-6618. Board members Fredia Gardner, (229) 924-9119; Willie Golphin, (229) 815-6763, and Valecia Sales-Seay, (229) 815-0991, may also be contacted.