Vidant Beaufort Hospital awarded the Beaufort County Police Activities League with a $2,500 donation Tuesday afternoon, as a show of community support.

Harvey Case, president of Vidant Beaufort, and Pam Shadle, manager of marketing and public relations, presented a check to BCPAL President Al Powell outside of the Aviation, Technology and Fitness Center on Airport Road in Washington.

BCPAL is an organization dedicated to exposing youth to careers in science, technology, engineering and math, while also encouraging them to be well-rounded individuals.

The center’s construction is still underway, and the donation will go toward finishing up the building, according to Powell.

Powell said both Case and Shadle have showed support for BCPAL for years, and once they saw the building, they wanted to do what they could to help.

“They were really excited about the concept (of the building) and seeing it makes all the difference. … So basically they told us they support our program, and they were going to see what they could do to help us with some money,” Powell said.

Evan Lewis, board member of BCPAL, said it’s been an exciting time for the organization because he has watched the building go from a vision to a tangible reality.

“I’ve been around since it was just a dream. … It’s been a bunch of pieces. Now it’s a reality. It’s a rock. It’s here,” Lewis said.

Powell said the organization and its center will focus on health, diet and nutrition, so Vidant Beaufort’s contribution to the center is an important piece of the puzzle. He said the donation also shows continued community support.

“It’s critical. It shows that the community wants to reinvest in the program. They want to reinvest with the youth in the community,” Powell said.

Lewis said the community support reassures him that BCPAL is doing something beneficial for the residents of Beaufort County.

“It’s encouraging to see tangible evidence of support from the community. It makes you think we’re doing the right thing,” Lewis said.