Donation a sign of good will toward local Boys & Girls Club

    In the spirit of giving during the biggest season of giving, representatives from the local steel service center Metalwest (now O’Neal Flat Rolled Metals) donated $7,500 to the Shopneck Boys & Girls Club in Brighton Dec. 22.

Photo Provided

Michele Lussier and Beth Hackenberg with O’Neal Flat Rolled Metals and Santa Claus celebrate the holidays with the Shopneck Boys & Girls Club. The two, together with other representatives from the local steel service center, donated $7,500 to the club Dec. 22.

    According to Michele Lussier, customer financial services regional manager, they’ve been committed to the Boys & Girls Club from its start.
    “We were a leading force when the Boys & Girls Club was first brought to Brighton. As employees we had many fundraisers, including brick buying, to help get the club started,” Lussier said.
    Over the years, the company has donated items such as office furniture and even had the boys’ locker room named in honor of Metalwest’s original owner, Bob Begin.
    This year, their donation will be used for operations and any items the club needs.
     “As a business and part of this community, we all came forward when the club was first introduced and really offered a lot of time and financial support,” Lussier said. “As the years have gone by there has been great need to keep this club up and running without worry of no funding.
    “Our Shopneck Boys & Girls Club serves nearly 300 kids every day with homework help, meals and, in some cases, just somewhere to hang out. When you walk through the doors of the gym and see all the banners of their sports achievements that makes you realize how much they are giving to the kids.”
    Lussier along with Dylan Lussier, Beth Hackenberg, Brian Madison, Yvonne Sack, Alan Sack, Jennifer Wong, Andre Wong and Joanne Racine were all present at the donations.
    “The kids and staff were very excited in hearing about the money donated,” Lussier said. “It gives them a piece of mind that they will still have somewhere to go on a daily basis.”
    Lussier added a pitch for other businesses out there in the community.
    “We are asking our business peers to consider also helping out the Shopneck Boys & Girls Club in Brighton as many of these children could one day be an employee,” she said.
    Also over this holiday break, Metalwest took on the process of changing their name to O’Neal Flat Rolled Metals (OFR Metals) to be in line with their parent company, O’Neal Industrial Metal Groups.
    “Our name change does not change our commitment to the Boys & Girls Club or to the communities that we are in. We are committed to being a leader among our peers within Brighton to helping.”
    The Robert M. Shopneck Branch, 1800 Longs Peak St., was built in 2007 and features a teen center, technology lab, arts room, education center, outdoor courts and playing fields, indoor gym and more. It is open from Monday-Friday from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m.
    Contact 303-637-7272.

Contact Emily Dougherty at 303-659-2522 ext. 223 or edougherty@metrowestnewspapers.com.