Boys & Girls Clubs of Northwest Indiana’s Lake Station Club, A local youth development non-profit organization, today announced it has been selected to receive a $1,000 grant as part of the Restaurant Community Grants program from the Darden Restaurants Foundation, Inc. the charitable arm of Darden Restaurants. The grants program, now in its third year, empowers each restaurant in the Darden family of brands to help award a $1,000 grant to support local community programs. The donation will enable the Lake Station Club’s Junior Staff program which assists Club members ages 13 to 18 in exploring a career in youth or human services. Young people prepare for future roles as human services professionals by participating in career development activities, discovering the importance of community service, building customer service skills and completing a Club apprenticeship.
Darden’s Red Lobster, Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Bahama Breeze, Seasons 52, The Capital Grille, Eddie V’s and Yard House brands participated in the program. Many restaurants and brands worked together to award one nonprofit organization with a larger grant and make a greater impact in their community. Nonprofits receiving grants support one of Darden’s three key focus areas: education, preservation of natural resources and hunger relief.
“The continuous generosity of the Darden’s Restaurant Foundation has positively impacted the lives of our teens year after year at our Lake Station Club.” States Rachael Wright, Director of Program Services with Boys & Girls Clubs of Northwest Indiana. “The Junior Staff Development program begins to mold and sharpen our future youth development professionals through an integrated program that focuses on personal skills and work ethic. They must also perform various in-Club and external community service. Junior staff candidates earn money by working for the Club during the summer and developing skills they learned in the program.”
“We strive to make a positive impact in all the communities our restaurants serve,” said Gene Lee, Darden’s president and chief operating officer. “Our employees are incredibly passionate about getting directly involved in their local communities, and our Restaurant Community Grants program enables each of our restaurant teams to make a difference right in their own backyard.”
For more information about the Darden Foundation, please visit www.dardenfoundation.com. For additional information on Boys & Girls Clubs of Northwest Indiana please visit www.bgcnwi.org
