Top of the Town event to feature dessert auction, fashion show fundraiser to benefit Boys and Girls Club | Local News

“What better idea than to combine those together and for everybody to have a night of good dessert, good clothes and good fun,” said Christine Allen, who is helping to organize the event.  Allen added that Erin Burmeister of Lead, who owns Doc & Alice clothing boutique in Rapid City, will help coordinate the fashion show. All volunteers are welcome to participate, and businesses are welcome and encouraged to showcase clothing or other items that represent their mission.

“As long as we can get plenty of people to participate, that will be the main thing,” she said. “We hope that it is filled with looks from the community. Other people from surrounding communities can enter, too. It doesn’t have to be just living in Lead, and it also doesn’t have to be just about clothes. I think the fire department is going to walk down in their uniforms for fun. It could be bank swag and polos. We want people to be involved. We want them to have fun and we want to tie in the community and raise big money for the Boys and Girls Club.”

In addition to the dessert auction and fashion show, Kellie Buller, resource development director for the Boys and Girls Club of the Black Hills, said youth from the Lead-Deadwood club will make special “finger food” dessert treats for attendees to enjoy during the event.

“They’re really excited about that,” she said of the kids, who attend a “Cooking Club” as part of the regular programming at the facility.

Buller said while the Boys and Girls Club of the Black Hills operates clubs in Lead, Hill City and Rapid City, 100% of the funds raised at the Top of the Town fundraiser will be used for the Lead club. The event has been traditionally held as a table auction, with attendees purchasing seats at tables, but this year attendees will purchase seats at the opera house. Seats in rows one through five will be sold at $50 each, while seats in rows five through eight will be sold for $45, and seats in rows nine through 12 will be sold for $40 each. Balcony seating will also be available for general admission ticket holders at a cost of $5-$10 a seat.

The Boys and Girls Club of Lead-Deadwood has 150-200 registered students, with about 20 to 40 of those attending on a regular basis. During the summer months, the Club provides full time childcare with special educational programming to engage the youth, as well as breakfast, lunch and a snack. During the school year the Club provides after school programming for the students from about 3 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., with a snack included. Parents are only charged $25 per month for summertime care, and $25 for the year to receive after school care from September through May, for a maximum total of $100 per year.

However, Buller said it costs much more than that to provide services at the Club. She estimated that the Club spends about $1,300 per child for employees, programming, food and other operational expenses. Therefore, grants and fundraising opportunities are extremely important to continue the mission of the Club to provide quality care for kids.

“Everything stays right here at the club to make sure the kids are getting the best that they can,” Buller said. “Once we get these kids in the Club we have everything from our STEM projects to cooking club, which is a really big hit with them.”

For more information about how to get involved with the Top of the Town fundraiser send an email to Buller at [email protected].

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