The Boys and Girls Club of Santa Barbara County will be hosting the ninth Rally4Kids charity event on the weekend of April 13-14. The event consists of driving to secret locations, competing with other teams, and celebrating in the evening with a ticketed gala event, among other things.
Rally4Kids is a charitable group that aims to level the playing field for children and offer them a safe place to learn and play through the Boys and Girls Club of Santa Barbara. It’s also a one-of-a-kind event that combines a scenic drive on California’s finest roads, entertaining checkpoint challenges, and a spectacular gala.
Michael Baker, CEO of the United Boys and Girls Club, states, “Kids are the innocent victims in our community. I’ve never met a kid that was laid off a job, filed for a divorce, or lost their home, but they are the ones that have to live through those events. Our job is to give them a safety net to get through life’s challenges and realize their full potential.”
With these values in mind, participants will partake on a weekend-long excursion that combines a scenic California drive, checkpoint challenges, and then the gala.
This weekend-long event kicks off on Friday, April 12, with a celebratory cocktail party for driver and navigator teams to prepare them for the following morning. This party allows the teams to introduce them to the Rally4Kids atmosphere by seeing who they’ll be competing against and who’s involved in the charity.
This year, there are 60 cars with two-member teams that will be driving a secret route, completing challenges, participating in events, and engaging with activities they might not have done since they were a child. As they complete their checkpoint challenges, they earn points along the way that add up for the title of “Road Scholars,” where a trophy will be awarded to the highest-scoring group that night at the gala.
The Black & Gold Gala serves as a celebratory event for rally participants as well as a celebration for the greater programs of Rally4Kids and the Boys and Girls Club of Santa Barbara. The gala will include a lively party with exotic cars on display, specialty drinks and cocktails, a gourmet dinner, an auction, entertainment, dancing, and a red carpet entrance.
Monte Wilson, a co-chair for this event, states his favorite part of his involvement with Rally4Kids: “We’re the most proud of the impact the rally makes on our community. Among the things [funded by] the proceeds of the Rally4Kids, we’ve been able to open two more locations for the United Boys and Girls Club, purchase vans for kids that have no way to get to the clubs, provide hot meals, and be open on Saturdays, which we were never able to do before.”
Although tickets for participation in the rally have been sold out since February, tickets to attend the Rally4Kids Gala as well as more information on the event are available at rally4kids.org.
