THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, August 11, 1994 TAG: 9408090134
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 03 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY VICKI LEWIS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 79 lines
KEVIN J. YEARWOOD says that children can always tell the difference between someone who really cares and an imposter. ``Real caring lasts 24 hours a day,'' said Yearwood. ``You have to go beyond the call of duty.''
And as director of the Colonial Boys and Girls Club in Park Place, Yearwood does just that.
Director of the Colonial Avenue club since 1986, Yearwood is responsible for the entire facility, including programs, staff, maintenance, rentals and contractors, and community referrals. His biggest goal is to provide a safe environment where boys and girls can have fun, learn and grow.
Yearwood has hopes for every child who walks through the door.
``I would like to see every kid that comes through the club participate all the way through high school and go into some form of secondary education,'' he said. ``There are some very intelligent minds that come into this building and they need a place to escape the negative influences on the outside.''
The positive influences the club offers include two gymnasiums, two game rooms, a weight room, a movie room, a snack bar, a swimming pool, a computer room (with nine new 486 computer systems), arts and crafts, and an educational resource center. There are also dances to attend and trips to go on.
The game room is the gateway to the Boys and Girls Club, he said. The kids may first be drawn to the blinking lights of the video games, but they'll soon become involved in some of the other activities.
Membership ranges from 1,000 to 1,100 children - up from 600 to 700 members when Yearwood took over.
During the summer, the club serves between 250 and 300 children daily, during the school year, 80 to 150 children a day, many in the after-school program. During the summer, children come from all over Hampton Roads to participate in the club events, with neighborhood children making up the bulk during the rest of the year. There is a $10 a year fee, but arrangements can be made for those children who cannot afford it.
Growing up in Harlem, Yearwood was a member of the Joseph Kennedy Youth Center. An avid basketball player, Yearwood said that like all kids, he too, dreamed of playing in professional sports. But he majored in health and physical education at St. Augustine's College in Raleigh, N.C.
Yearwood, who's originally from New York City, was unit director of the Boys & Girls Club of Rochester, N.Y., from 1982 to 1986, and served as first athletic director and then unit director of the main branch of the Boys & Girls Club in Syracuse, N.Y.
His wife, Jenelle, also works with children at the Barry Robinson Center. They have three children, a daughter, 22, a son, 16, and a daughter, 13.
Before he took the job in Norfolk, he said he had only been in this area to attend the CIAA tournament. But he likes the city and Park Place, where the club is located. ``I think Park Place is a wonderful place,'' he said. ``I've met wonderful people here.''
Many of the parents in the neighborhood depend on the club to provide a healthy environment for the children while they are working. ``They know that it's a valuable program that their kids can get involved in and know that their children are safe,'' he said.
He hopes the experiences at the club will instill in the children old-fashioned morals, respect for themselves, and the ability to communicate without physical violence.
Stressing education with programs to increase SAT scores and math and reading skills, Yearwood said he also wants the club's children to gain confidence in their abilities. ``I want them to feel good about math and reading. I want them to say, `I know this. I can do this.' ''
And many have. In fact, he's had many successes. Many of his former members from Syracuse, Rochester and Norfolk have gone on to college and have come back to the clubs as volunteers to encourage the next generation, including one who's now the director of the Syracuse club. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by PAUL AIKEN
Kevin Yearwood beside the pool at the Colonial Avenue Boys and Girls
Club. ``Real caring lasts 24 hours a day,'' he says.
KEYWORDS: PROFILE
by CNB