WOONSOCKET – Tuesday marked the first time that the California-based Davis Dauray Family Fund has donated to a Boys & Girls Clubs of America organization, and it is a big one that will be a substantial help to one local organization.
The Boys & Girls Clubs of Northern Rhode Island became the beneficiary of a $2.1 million endowment from the fund, organized by philanthropists Alan Davis and Mary Lou Dauray. It is the largest gift that the Boys & Girls Clubs of Northern Rhode Island has received in its six-plus decades of serving local youths and families. The organization consists of a Woonsocket club and a Cumberland-Lincoln club.
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The organization said the gift will be placed in a restricted fund called the Charles and Lucille Dauray Endowment, named in memory of Mary Lou’s parents, and it will benefit the organization’s Woonsocket club every year in perpetuity. The organization said the gift will fund multiple new initiatives, including hiring an art director, a new position at the club; expanding the drama set design and visual arts programs; growing the Healing HeArts program, a structured art therapy program for individuals with various abilities; expanding the photography program; and introducing a family night paint program.
“These programs allow our youth to grow and develop as individuals, as well as express themselves through safe and constructive means while using the arts to find their voices and passions,” said Gary Rebelo, CEO and president of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Northern Rhode Island, in a statement Tuesday.
Mary Lou Dauray, who grew up in Woonsocket, said in a statement that the gift to the local organization seemed like “a perfect way” to honor her parents and also be a gift that “can foster creativity and personal and artistic growth in the community.”
Gov. Daniel J. McKee said in a statement that the grant will help the Boys & Girls Clubs of Northern Rhode Island inspire innovation and allow local youths to reach their creative potential.
“The arts are crucial not only to our young people and their personal growth but also to the fabric and vibrancy of our communities,” McKee said.
James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter at @James_Bessette.
