What you do matters - That was the message of one Club kid, all grown up now, to the Corporate Board of Directors of Boys & Girls Clubs of the Pee Dee Area at their Annual Meeting on Thursday, January 30, at The Gately Gallery in downtown Florence.
“Boys & Girls Club saved my life. What you do matters,” said Kevin Robinson said with tears in his eyes. “I promise you it pays off.”
Robinson, a Florence native and Wilson grad, had a tough childhood. His struggle began with several police officers knocking at his door at 8 o’clock at night when he was 6.
“I was scared out of my mind,” he recalled.
The officers took him and his six brothers and sisters from his parents. They ended up spread across South Carolina, moving all the time, with new schools and new families, as they navigated the foster care system.
Growing up, like most kids, he needed someplace safe to go after school. The Boys & Girls Club became that place for Robinson. He didn’t know anything about the Club before he started to attend.
“The Club was just fun,” he said. Activities he enjoyed included swimming, going on field trips, playing in the gym, and mingling with other kids.
Another highlight was the food. “I remember just eating and eating and stuffing food in my pockets to take home.”
The share table, where kids can leave all or portions of their snacks for others, lives on today, as Boys & Girls Clubs of the Pee Dee Area serve more than 160,500 meals every year.
“I was around positive people who showed me right from wrong,” Robinson said. One person specifically he thanked was Mr. Decar Brown. “I didn’t have a role model. Mr. Brown took me in as one his own.”
Robinson credits his success to Mr. Brown and Mr. Neal Zimmerman, the organization’s executive director. When his car got repossessed, Mr. Z, as he’s affectionately known at the Club, gave him the keys to the Boys & Girls Club van to get back and forth to work.
“I drove that van for a year. They said, you will not fail,” Robinson said.
The Club gave Robinson his first job at 18, and the Club Service program helped him get his first degree at Florence Darlington Technical College. Today, Robinson works as a sixth-grade science teacher at Williams Middle School, holds a bachelor’s degree in counseling from Columbia College and a master’s degree in educational administration and leadership from the University of South Carolina. His son Tyriek also is a member of the Club.
Zimmerman reiterated the reach of the Boys & Girls Club to those gathered, “You help one kid at a time, but he’s helping hundreds more.”
The Board recognized several long-term members for their service and leadership, including Mr. Bill Query of Hartsville, Mr. George Brown of Hemingway, and Mrs. Patricia Singleton Parr of Florence.
The Honorable Lethonia “Peaches” Barnes, Mayor of the City of Florence, installed new members, Evrik Gary, Shane Gebhards, Ian Harris, Chris Hughes, Susan McGill, and Jim Wright, and the 2025 slate of officers, Chair Damon White, Vice Chair of Governance Jeff Stevens, Vice Chair of Development Merrette Dowdell, Vice Chair Operations Chipper Smith, Vice Chair of Safety Larry Waring, Secretary Bilal Davis, Treasurer Curtis Jacobs, and Immediate Past Chair Patricia Singleton Parr.
Upcoming events
The Youth of the Year Competition from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, February 8, at the Florence Club.
The winner of that competition would be announced at the Steak N Burger Dinner on Tuesday, March 4, at First Presbyterian Church in Florence where two top students will receive scholarships. Tickets and sponsorship information are available at https://bit.ly/SNB2025.
