Brandon Sports & Aquatic Center Casino Night Fundraiser Aims To Help Families in Tough Times

A very serious mission underlies the very serious — and fun — programming that for decades has engaged the Greater Brandon community in sports and fitness activities at the on Beverly Boulevard.

As Chuck Burgess, the executive director of the facility, described that mission: “We don’t want any kids to be left out.”

With that in mind comes the Fourth Annual Casino Night Fundraiser for the not-for-profit BSAC, scheduled for March 5, from 7:30 to 11:30 p.m., at the Barn Theatre at Winthrop.

“The whole purpose of this is to meet community needs,” Burgess said. “More and more families are needing after-school opportunities and financial assistance. We don’t want to be turning anybody away because they can’t afford to pay.”

In addition to its own membership, the BSAC offers its facilities for other local groups and organizations that service the needs of kids, such as A Kid’s Place, the Bill Carey Unit of the Boys & Girls Club of Brandon, area schools and churches, youth ministry programs, Scouting troops and even the Best Buddies program and youth initiatives through the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.

Supporting the BSAC’s fundraising efforts “doesn’t just impact our organization, it impacts other organizations as well,” Burgess said. “A lot of groups don’t have a pool. We partner with other organizations to fill that community need."

Burgess said some 800 kids attend the BSAC daily with programming designed “to get kids moving” and “to connect families.” Known for its tennis, swimming and diving programs, the center also is strong in gymnastics and the martial arts. Programming for adults is taken just as seriously as offerings for the kids.

Eighteen schools use the center for after-school programming and the center also serves as a Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten (VPK) site. Some 200 kids a week attend summer camp at BSAC.

“Everybody knows us for the diving and the swimming,” Burgess said, in reference to the both the Olympic-sized pool and elite diving platforms and the Olympians who have trained there, including swimmer Brooke Bennett and diver Bruce Kimball. 

“What people don’t necessarily know is that we’re a non-profit, for one thing, and we are a community focused organization,” Burgess said. “Our mission is to impact people through our programs. Educationally and athletically we want to impact our families and we’re very active in the community as community leaders as well.”

Founded in 1963 as the family owned, for-profit Brandon Swim and Tennis Club, the club became a center in 2004, buoyed by a reorganization that established the center’s non-profit status and more sweeping community mission.

“I want to keep the past in the past and focus on where we’re going,” Burgess said. “We have high-level athletes that go to the Olympics and high-caliber athletics but just as important is what we’re doing for every kid regardless of ability, socioeconomic status, background and ethnicity.”

“We want to impact kids in families with both parents working, or where single moms or single dads are struggling with their time,” Burgess said. “We provide after-school sports, arts and crafts, cooking, music, a Wii room, an arcade.”

Moreover, Burgess said, the center is rich in tradition.

“You go around the community and a lot of people will tell you they grew up here at the center,” Burgess said. “They’re bringing their kids and their grandkids here now. We have this legacy of these great things we do and our future will build upon that.”

Lori Bukaweski, the center’s associate director, agreed.

“We often say we want to do as many things as we can for as many people as we can for as long as we can in Brandon,” she said.

The best part about that mission, she said, is “watching kids reach the potential they have and becoming confident and connected in the process."

Cost to attend the Casino Night Fundraiser is $35 per person and $60 per couple. Tickets can be purchased at the door of by calling the BSAC membership services desk through March 5 at 2 p.m. at 813-689-0908. The Barn Theatre at Winthrop is at 11349 Bloomingdale Avenue, between Watson and Providence roads.