HELPING KIDS.
CHANGING LIVES.
Our Boys & Girls Club family has suffered a great loss. On September 24th, Ron Loney, the original Executive Director of the Club, passed away.
Ron has an incredible legacy - from being here the day after Christmas in 1966 when our doors opened, to his attempt to retire in 2005, to serving on our foundation board, and retuning to work as our Alumni Director until his passing. Ron meant so much to many of our former Club Kids, staff, and community members. The impact he made will be endless.
To many around town, Ron was simply known as Mr. Boys & Girls Club. His commitment and passion for the Club were so great there was no separating one from the other. Ron’s legacy is an example of what happens when one’s all-consuming passion aligns with their professional work. He touched countless lives and has forever left his mark on this Club and our community.
Ron was a Club Kid himself and always credited the Boy’s Club with saving his life. It was from attending the Wallingford Boy’s Club at a young age that he not only found a place to belong, but found his passion for helping kids.
His story could have been much different. As a young child, Ron was the embodiment of our mission statement to help “the kids who need us the most”. Born to teenage parents, Ron was placed in an orphanage for much of his formative years until he was adopted at age seven by an aunt and uncle. A few years later, both of his adoptive parents passed away unexpectedly. Ron went to live with his grandmother where he found a safe place with caring adults, made friends, and found an outlet for his energy at the Wallingford Boy’s Club in Seattle.
When his grandmother passed, it was his best friend’s family who took him in. Because of the Club and the friend he made there, Ron took what most of the world would label as “disadvantages” and turned it into a passion for helping children and providing a positive alternative to life’s struggles.
For over 60 years, Ron’s legacy was providing programs for Club Kids like him that helped shape youth into dependable, reliable, and hardworking individuals. Ron’s desire to help foster the leaders of tomorrow was driven by the hope that they, in turn, would enrich the lives of those around them. We can’t help but reflect on how great our Albany community is because of all of Ron’s Club Kids.
The greatest way we can each honor Ron’s legacy is to carry on his mission to help ensure every child has the opportunity to become everything they can possibly be.
May his memory be a blessing to all that knew him.
Community Driven
Business leaders, dedicated volunteers and local philanthropic individuals are at the heart of our Foundation, driving the organization forward toward a bright future.
Impactful
Providing essential services for the kids, families and community members in Linn County is a fundamental goal of the Foundation’s mission.
Sustainable
Our strategic investment portfolio ensures that funds donated are carefully and responsibly managed with the goal of achieving financial stability for the Boys & Girls Club of Albany.
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Safer Communities Built on Solid Foundations
We believe that philanthropy is a powerful resource for driving social innovations that lead to more resilient, healthier communities. It provides an opportunity to pioneer new ideas, generate new solutions, develop the next generation of leaders, strengthen civic and social organizations, and build partnerships to solve complex problems.
The Albany Boys & Girls Club Foundation was created to help ensure the lasting success of the Boys & Girls Club of Albany’s mission to lift our communities’ most precious members, the kids. Through support of our youth, we can impact the health of our communities, improve family lives, and page the way to a brilliant future. Join us in our efforts and learn how you can be a point of light for the Albany BGC Foundation.