THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, August 18, 1994 TAG: 9408170159
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 10 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY HEIDI GLICK, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Long : 137 lines
For many youths, summertime means sleeping in late, relaxing at home, raiding the refrigerator and watching a lot of TV. But that's not how David Winslow and Bill Bradshaw spend their summer. These 14-year-olds leave their houses at 7:45 each morning and return about 6 p.m.
Their days are filled with activities: They shoot pool, work at a computer, swim, play basketball and ice hockey, build miniature models, watch movies and take field trips.
The cost? About $15 a year.
``At 7:45 a.m., I drop my stuff off at my locker and then I go look for my bud,'' said David, draping an arm around Bill's shoulder.
The two are best friends though they live in different cities; David lives in Chesapeake and Bill in Virginia Beach.
And they credit the W.W. Houston Memorial Club in Norfolk, one of five facilities that makes up The Boys and Girls Clubs of South Hampton Roads, for their friendship.
Both boys joined three years ago.
``I saw David around on the monkey bars and I came up and we started talking,'' Bill said. ``Sometimes we go to the art room, but most of the time we play pool and ice hockey. It's better than just sitting at home watching TV.''
``And the people who work here are nice,'' David added. ``A lot of kids can get on your nerves, but they (counselors) never lose it.''
David and Bill are among more than 4,000 South Hampton Roads members, ages 7 to 17, who belong to the Boys and Girls Clubs, an organization that began in 1919 as a project of the Norfolk Rotary Club.
The original purpose of the organization was to provide ``moral uplift,'' says Executive Director Web Gould.
That same purpose exists today.
``It's a place to call their own, to produce a better citizen for the future of the community,'' he said. ``That is, in essence, what we're still about.''
The Houston facility, located on Azalea Garden Road, is the largest of the five local clubs. As many as 500 students go there each day. The others are a Colonial Avenue facility, two public housing facilities in Roberts Village and Campostella, and a Virginia Beach facility that will be replaced by a new facility behind Tidewater Community College.
Traditionally, these clubs were a safe haven for the sports-oriented youth who lived in urban, and often poor, neighborhoods, as well as a place to find friendship and role models or just have fun.
But the clubs offer more than just sports. Members have access to art instruction, a computer room, swimming lessons, pool safety, job training and a quiet room where they can do their homework, read or be tutored.
``It's real important that we take a look at what we're doing,'' said Jeanne Martin, unit director of the Houston facility. ``There's a lot of training we expect kids to get at home, but they're not getting it.''
For some members, the organization takes on the responsibility of teaching values like sharing, competence, belonging and leadership. But, Martin concedes, always in a fun way.
``Recreation is the hook that gets them through the door,'' she said. ``It's fun with a purpose.''
Then, once the children come through the door, they get involved in other things, like computers or art. With two working parents or a single working parent, children often don't get the attention at home that they might need.
That's where the club takes over.
``We have become almost an extension of their family,'' Martin said. ``For a lot of kids, this is home. They see us as their family. We're a big part of their lives.''
Although these activities might be teaching students lessons about life, the students see them purely as fun.
``Kids like messy, wet and wild,'' Martin said.
Kids like Howard Merkerson, a 7-year-old who lives in Norfolk. One recent afternoon, he and about 12 other children took turns competing against each other in a potato sack race. The hot sun didn't keep Howard from climbing into a sack and hopping down a dirt field.
Led by Angela DeBoskey, games room coordinator, the children in line chanted, ``Go Potato Go. Go Potato Go.'' After tripping twice, he reached the finish line, barely ahead of his two competitors. Smiling and breathing heavily, he grasped his side and paced, with a slight limp, near the other children.
``Good job. Good effort,'' DeBoskey said and handed the winner his prize - a miniature Snickers bar.
The reigning sport at the facility is basketball. All the outside and indoor courts are full, as well as the jungle gym, swings and slide.
Swimming also is popular.
The club members have the freedom to choose their activities, from shooting pool to taking a nap. Because they have no set structure, they are encouraged to use their own decision-making skills, Martin explained.
Although the membership fee is low, ranging from $3 to $35 a year depending on the facility, the cost is still important because it gives the members a sense of belonging, said John Feige, director of marketing and communications.
Shana Johnson, 12, has been going to the facility for four years. Her favorite place to hang out is the art room. A lot of what she makes, she takes home to her mother. ``I've learned my mother likes plaster,'' Shana said, and added that about 25 pieces of her artwork are hanging up in the house. ``Plaster string art is everywhere.'' She said her mom also likes the facility.
``My mom loves it here because no one bumps into her when she comes to get me. They have manners.''
At a table in the art room, about five girls sat designing barrettes, using flowered cloth, lace, colored glue and beads.
``Elizabeth, are you sure you're coming to my birthday party?,'' questioned Theresa Teran, a 12-year-old from Norfolk.
Theresa, one of art teacher Terre Taylor's student assistants, explained the responsibilities of being an assistant.
``You can't get a temper tantrum if someone makes you mad,'' she said. ``If I scream at them, I might get fired because their feelings might get hurt. My boss said if I yell at them to take them somewhere where it's quiet and apologize. It will help them realize that I didn't mean to yell and to make them feel all right.''
She's been an assistant since June and proudly admits that she hasn't had a temper tantrum yet.
Back in the game room, David and Bill, along with David's sister, Angela, are playing two other boys in a game of pool. There's only one pool stick per table to encourage the children to share.
``Everything we do has a message,'' Martin explained. ``No matter what they're doing in the club, generally there's a reason: to teach friendship, sharing, fair play, those kinds of issues.''
After winning the game, the trio take a break and sit on a nearby bench.
``They (counselors) do their best to make sure everyone's having fun,'' Bill said. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photos by LAWRENCE JACKSON
Some future Olympians, ages 4 to 6, practice their strokes during a
swimming lesson at the W.W. Houston club pool.
Mark Kirk, 6, and Andrea Lewis, 6, watch as another youth plays
Foosball. The game is just one of many activities offered at the
club.
Andre Tarretter, 8, plays a video game in the club's rec room.
by CNB