For the kids: Community's effort to renovate gym should have made coach proud

It is no surprise really that when he was asked to step up and lead an effort to raise the funds necessary to renovate the Boys & Girls Club gym, Coach David Odom took on the challenge -- and pushed his hometown to do the same.

That's what winners -- and those who never really forget where they came from -- do.

But even though the coach is the reason the drive got off the ground, there were many people across this community who decided not just to talk about making a difference for the children in their community. They opened their wallets to make sure that the children who go to the Boys & Girls Club would have the renovated gym they needed.

And that is a reason for those who participated in the project to be proud -- and for Coach Odom to feel even better about the community he already loves.

But the work does not end here.

Changing children's lives requires more than simply bricks and mortar. To really send the message that education and personal responsibility really matter, the Boys & Girls Club needs volunteers who are willing to do anything from running a homework session to acting as a mentor to a local youth.

If the community offers a bit of itself and shares the lessons residents' parents have taught them with the children of Goldsboro, there might be more than a few David Odoms coming back in a few years to give back to the community that gave so much to them.

That is the kind of investment that will pay rich dividends, now and in the future.

Published in Editorials on October 8, 2010 10:57 AM