The "positive place for kids" wants to showcase its successes to the community during its upcoming Futures 4 Kids Gala.

The Boys and Girls Clubs of Hall County will be hosting its annual fundraising event Tuesday at the Gainesville Civic Center. Atlanta Falcons tight end Tony Gonzalez will be the event’s keynote speaker.

"Right now our priorities are academics, healthy lifestyles, character and leadership — these are things that we stress every day at the center," said Joyce Wilson, Boys and Girls Clubs vice president of development and marketing.

"We use a lot of the money raised from the annual gala to support these initiatives."

In addition to hearing Gonzalez speak about how the Boys and Girls Clubs programs helped him as a youth in Huntington Valley, Calif., attendees also will be entertained by local club members and hear from the center’s Youth of the Year.

"We want to be able to showcase some of our successes at the gala," Wilson said. For example, she said, "since the teen center opened (in 2006), 100 percent of our teens have graduated from high school on time and have gone on to post-secondary schools."

The club will award their Helping Hands Award to The Medical Center Foundation during the gala.

Ticket sales will close at noon Tuesday.