NASHUA — In spite of the fundamental service it provides to 3,315 youth in the community, the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Nashua isn't immune from paying the bills.

That's why they announced the $50,000 Great Futures Challenge, a fundraiser which aims to help them to pay the bills.

“Every day that we raise money here at the club it could be for some type of special program,” said Tricia Casey, director of advancement.

“But without money to pay the bills, what we call operations, we can't do all of this.”

Indeed, paying the electricity, the heat and for cleaning the building are a harder sell. A donor has put up $50,000 to match contributions from three categories — first-time donors, those who have given before but didn't give in 2011, and those who give more this year than last year.

Donations must be postmarked by Oct. 31.

The fundraiser launched on Wednesday, and Casey said they've already raised $6,600 — a stone's throw on their march to the final goal of $250,000.

Casey said that in spite of the tough economy, they nudged that goal up a bit to try and challenge the community.

“We know that the community supports us, and we wanted to challenge them to help us pay those bills and make it possible for us to be here,” she said.

“It can be some of the hardest money to raise. It's easy to raise money to make sure that kids have food, and that kids can get to the club, and that we have really great programs. But it's hard to connect to paying the bills.”

Casey says the club is so important to youth, especially between the hours of 3 and 6 p.m., when kids are out of school but parents aren't home from work yet.

Most club members would either be going to an empty home or hanging out in the street, Casey said. That's where the club comes in.

“We know that if they're here, they're supervised, they're getting help with their homework, they're getting a meal, they're participating in organized sports, if they choose to,” she said.

“There's an informal structure to the day here, but what's really important is they're not subject to that peer pressure out on the street.”

For more information about the club or the Great Futures Challenge, contact Tricia Casey at 603-883-0523 ext. 211 or pcasey@bgcn.com.

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