2nd annual Black Tie Gala raises $30k for Boys and Girl’s Club of Detroit Lakes

Detroit Lakes, Minn. (KDLM) – The 2nd annual Black Tie Gala held at the Historic Holmes Theatre on Thursday night raised $30,000 for the Boys and Girl’s Club of Detroit Lakes.

The event was hosted by Phaser Marketing in partnership with the nonprofit and hauled in $10,000 more in donations through a series of auctions and raffle drawings than last year’s inaugural event.

Pat Petermann, executive director of the Boys and Girl’s Club of Detroit Lakes, said the money raised can help offset some membership fees and support higher operating costs due to inflation.

“A lot of our kids and parents say they can’t afford the annual membership fee of $50,” said Petermann. “Usually, we just waive it, so that will help offset some of those costs. And with everything, the price of food has gone up, and with us providing two meals a day during the summer, and one hot meal in the evening during the school year, (the donation) will help alleviate some of those costs also.”

Over the summer, Petermann said, the nonprofit provided services to between 120 to 140 kids per day on average, which is nearly a return to pre-pandemic levels of service when the nonprofit averaged about 150 kids per day.

Luke Eggebraaten, owner of Phaser Marketing, said the Boys and Girl’s Club is the perfect nonprofit to support because they are community staple with a clear mission and every dollar goes to help their programming around helping kids in Detroit Lakes.

“In 2020, when I was looking for a fundraiser we could grow with, I really wanted to make sure it was a fundraiser that could have the systems in place, have the right mission in place, and was also a staple in the community,” said Eggebraaten. “And that is something (the Boys and Girl’s Club) does so well. They do so much already … but we just want to keep building. Not for two years, not for five years, but for 20, 25 years moving forward.”

The Boys and Girl’s Club of Detroit Lakes is currently accepting registrations for their 2023-24 after-school program, which provides kids structured activity between 3:15 to 6:15 p.m., Monday thru Friday during the school year.

More information about the after-school program can be found on the Boys and Girls Club website.