A Place Called Hope
April 1st, 2009 by Richard J. Alley
Vincent Borello is a living testament to what the Boys & Girls Clubs can do for kids. As a product of the East Utica Boys Club in upstate New York, he grew up in a rough, inner-city neighborhood. He candidly admits, if it hadn’t been for his Boy’s club, “I’d probably be dead or in jail.”
Instead, he was given control of that club at age 17, becoming the youngest unit director in the organization’s history, and never looked back. “I could have been a doctor and saved lives, but not as many as I save here.”
As president and CEO, Borello speaks passionately about the Boys & Girls Clubs and doesn’t consider what he does as work. With the six clubs he oversees in Memphis, “we give kids as much choice and opportunity as possible,” says Borello.
The choices for these children are plentiful from day to day: Play pool or read? Basketball or help from a mentor? Air hockey or cooking class? Other opportunities lie within each choice, namely helping kids improve in mind, body, and character.
Improving oneself and respecting others are tenets of the Boys & Girls Clubs which, since 1962, has been a place for Memphis kids to go and feel safe, have fun, and work on skills that will carry them through life. A common mischaracterization is that the clubs are a rough place with only the toughest inner-city kids.
But then you meet 15-year-old Hope Dennis, a studious girl who comes to the Ira Samelson center from nearby Treadwell High School. In her view, the club is “a positive place for kids. If we need help with homework, or advice, they can help us. They let us be ourselves.” Tucked amid a neighborhood of small, well-tended homes, the Samelson club is just a stone’s throw from Grahamwood Elementary and Treadwell High and serves more than 200 kids who find structure, discipline and friendship here. The club’s alum include Elliot Perry and Penny Hardaway.
“We’re serving not just tough kids, but latch-key kids who need a safe, clean place to go,” says Borello.
In fact, 80 percent of the 5,000 kids who attend citywide come from single-parent homes. This is why the club needs mentors desperately, especially men, an influence missing in so many of these children’s lives. The clubs can provide a basketball court and ball, says Borello, but “you can’t learn sportsmanship, teamwork, and manners from just picking a ball up off the court. You have to be taught to play.”
In addition to providing after-school care, the organization offers day camps and a residential camp during the summer months. At Camp Phoenix, located in Sardis, Mississippi, 60 kids gather each week to learn backpacking, outdoor cooking, fishing, and boating, all for just $5 for a week. For many, it’s the only vacation they will take all year.
Tonya Bradley, Samelson’s director, sees herself as a mother, friend, and advisor to “her kids” and proudly shows off their new surroundings. The club recently underwent a $1.3 million renovation and celebrates a grand re-opening this month. In her view, the club is more than just a hangout. “We give them self-reliance skills as simple as saying, ‘Please’ and ‘Thank you.’ We’re giving them skills to be productive citizens.”
The building is bright, clean, and colorful. A member’s original artwork adorns the walls, and rooms are dedicated to various activities: One donated by the Grizzlies Foundation is used for reading and mentoring; a technology lab houses a wall of computers; another room for teens to gather has sofas and a flat-screen television. There’s also an industrial, yet homey, kitchen; and a brand-new exercise room and refurbished gymnasium.
Thirty-five-year-old William Brown, a state employee and single dad, finds comfort knowing his three children have a caring environment to go to after school. “It’s great,” he says. “They have more than enough activities to keep them busy and interested. It’s a godsend for a single parent to have some place you can count on.”
Like this location, the clubs across Memphis are growing. Borello says he plans for membership to double to 10,000 kids during the next three years, as the organization expands with smaller clubs opening near already established ones and partnering with local churches and businesses. “We’re going to start growing responsibly,” he said. “We want to go from being good to being great.”
Charles Ewing grew up down the street from a club, yet thought it an exclusive membership where he couldn’t belong. He laments that “the clubs are, sadly, one of Memphis’s best-kept secrets.”
A long-standing board member, Ewing’s aim is to make sure families across the city know that the clubs are for them; that there are people here working to make sure kids succeed, just as he has in life. Ewing, the father of three, is president and CEO of Ewing Moving Services. He gives freely of his time and money to the club, saying, “I know it’s going to the right place, I know it’s money well spent.”
With Memphis City Schools’ worrisome graduation rate of 67 percent, the graduation rate among Boys & Girls Clubs members is 95 percent. Those numbers are tough to discount, yet the board remains concerned about those 5 percent who don’t graduate.
“We want to be a catalyst in education to propel these kids to a whole new level,” says Borello. “We want to build citizens of tomorrow.”
The Boys and Girls Club of Greater Memphis
Open to children ages 7 to 18
Membership: $5 per year.
Summer hours: Monday-Friday,
10 a.m.-4 p.m. Day camps offered.
Residential camp: Camp Phoenix, a week-long resident camp at Sardis Lake, Mississippi.
Camp Phoneix accepts 60 kids each week (ages 9-12) for six weeks. Kids learn backpacking, outdoor cooking, fishing, boating, and other activities.
Want to donate your time?
Contact: 324-5763