Boys & Girls Club Dinner Dance Celebrates 30 Years Helping Kids The Neil S. Hirsch Family Boys & Girls Club of Wellington will celebrate 30 years of impacting area youth in a safe environment during nonschool hours at the annual Wellington Dinner Dance next month. The International Polo Club Palm Beach will serve as the backdrop for the anniversary event on Friday, Jan. 5, 2018 at 6:30 p.m. The much-anticipated affair is the club’s largest annual fundraiser and one of the highlights of Wellington’s social season, attracting high-profile equestrians and philanthropists each year for an evening of cocktails, silent and live auctions, dinner and dancing. A committee of dedicated men and women from the Wellington community has come together to plan the milestone gala to continue the club’s legacy for decades to come. Co-chairs include Georgina Bloomberg, Nicolette Goldfarb, Eric and Jennifer Goldman, and Marley GoodmanOverman. Honorary chairs are Dr.
Edward and Maria Becker, Dr. Colette Brown-Graham, Julie Kime and Dr. Daxa Patel. For Palms West Hospital CEO Eric Goldman and his wife Jennifer, the dinner dance has become a family affair. “Raising two beautiful children of my own, I understand the importance of being able to teach children how to socialize with others and put themselves on the right pathways toward success,” Jennifer said. “The Boys & Girls Club is not only a place for children to go after school, but they work carefully with the children to instill these same ideals. When an organization has simi-
lar values to your own, it is a natural fit to get involved.” Jennifer was fortunate to grow up in a household with a parent who was home when she arrived after school. Eric, on the other hand, has fond memories of engaging in sports and other fun activities at the YMCA and Jewish Community Center in his hometown of Canton, Ohio. “So much of who I am today, and how far I’ve come in life, is attributed to socializing at those wonderful places after school and in the summer,” Eric said. The Children’s Hospital at Palms West also caters to the children in the community, so it was logical for the Goldmans to partner with the Boys & Girls Club. Many area medical professionals are involved with the club, and its board meetings are usually held in a conference room at the hospital.
Dinner dance committee members Jennifer Martinez, Shelley B. Goodman, Dr. Daxa Patel, Colette Brown-Graham, Eric and Jennifer Goldman, Nicolette Goldfarb, Julie Kime, Maria Becker, Tawny Wolf and Julie Khanna with club members. PHOTO COURTESY TRACEY BENSON PHOTOGRAPHY
wellington the magazine | december 2017
37