BGCT and Darden Restaurants Partner to Advance Power Hour
April 11, 2014
The Boys & Girls Club of Troy was recently selected to receive a $3,000 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 BGCT to continue to enhance Power Hour: Making Minutes Count, a national tutoring and homework assistance program which the Club implements daily for its 700-plus members.
Three local restaurants under the Darden umbrella – Bahama Breeze
and The Capital Grille
in Troy, and Olive Garden
in Warren – came together to award the Boys & Girls Club of Troy 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.
"We see a great deal of value in the Power Hour program, and obviously Darden does as well judging from their generous grant,” said Tom Gorman, Club Director for the Boys & Girls Club of Troy. "Having the support of organizations like Darden Restaurants makes it possible for our Club to continue to provide a solid educational platform for our members.”
"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.”
Power Hour: Making Minutes Count allows youth to extend their learning beyond the school day. Research studies confirm that homework completion makes a difference in helping youth become more confident, happy and successful in school. Power Hour offers a structured time and place for Club staff and volunteers to help members complete their homework – and start each school day better prepared and with a sense of confidence and competence.
Plus, as members participate in the Power Hour program, they earn Power Points which are redeemable for incentive prizes and special privileges.
For more information about the Darden Foundation, please visit www.dardenfoundation.com. For additional information on the Boys & Girls Club of Troy, please visit www.bgctroy.org.
About Boys & Girls Club of Troy
The Boys & Girls Club of Troy at 3670 John R, is a non-profit youth development organization that provides educational and recreational activities, in addition to mentoring programs, to more than 1,200 children, ages 6 to 18, in the tri-county area. For over 35 years, the Club's positive environment has enabled members to become responsible, self-reliant, caring adults.
About Darden Restaurants
Darden Restaurants, Inc., (NYSE: DRI), owns and operates more than 2,100 restaurants that generate over $8.5 billion in annual sales. Headquartered in Orlando, Fla., and employing more than 200,000 people, Darden is recognized for a culture that rewards caring for and responding to people. In 2014, Darden was named to the FORTUNE "100 Best Companies to Work For" list for the fourth year in a row. Our restaurant brands – Red Lobster, Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Bahama Breeze, Seasons 52, The Capital Grille, Eddie V's and Yard House – reflect the rich diversity of those who dine with us. Our brands are built on deep insights into what our guests want. For more information, please visit www.darden.com.
The Darden Foundation
The Darden Restaurants, Inc. Foundation is the charitable arm of Darden Restaurants, Inc. The Darden Foundation’s mission is to maintain a spirit of service and community engagement as defining characteristics of Darden’s family of restaurants – Red Lobster, Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Bahama Breeze, Seasons 52, The Capital Grille, Eddie V’s and Yard House. Since 1995, the Darden Foundation has awarded more than $71 million in grants to leading nonprofit organizations that align with its mission and community priorities: Recipe for Success®, Preservation of Natural Resources and Good Neighbor grants. Through the Darden Harvest program, Darden Restaurants has also donated more than 66 million pounds of food to hunger relief agencies across the U.S. and Canada. In 2011, the Darden Foundation introduced the Restaurant Community Grants program that is dedicated to supporting local nonprofit organizations in the hundreds of communities where we live and serve. For more information, please visit dardenfoundation.com.