It Does Take a Village
Approaching the Carl D. Thomas Boys & Girls Club at the end of Bloomfield Road last week, I noticed it looked vaguely familiar. It wasn't the building, but the atmosphere.

As I walked in the door I understood why I had that old familiar feeling. Harold Hatcher was there smiling and greeting children as they entered. Sarah Miller looked up and greeted us from behind the reception desk where kids sign in.

I surveyed the room. All the familiar pieces were in place. Pool and foosball tables to my right and gym to my left. It was familiar because I had been there before. No, not this Boys & Girls Club, but I spent a lot of time in the club in Stockton, Calif.

I can see that club in my mind's eye like it was yesterday. Not only did I frequent that club as a kid, I was the chief lifeguard during the summers at Eastside Park, right next to the club. Many of the children attending programs swam at my pool.

Before I go further, I must tell you that my association with Boys & Girls Club goes much deeper than using foosball tables. One of my best friends, George Thompson, and I frequented the Stockton club. Later he would become the club's director before a blood clot took his life in 1996. My nephew, Tim Richardson, is the vice president for military affairs for Boys & Girls Clubs of America, based in Atlanta.

What brought me to the Thomas club were two of my grandchildren and a grand nephew who are staying with my wife and I . Willie Brown, who supervises several clubs, suggested the boys should spend some time at the Thomas club. After getting a quick tour I understood his suggestion. Boys & Girls Clubs, while retaining the familiar recreation programs, have added a new bag of tricks.

When I was coming up, there were no electronic games, and if there were, I had never heard of them and my club didn't have them. Not so today. The club has an electronic-game room adjacent to the larger pool and foosball area.

Please understand. If you think all Boys & Girls Clubs offer is a safe place to play, it's time to think again. Next to the electronic game room is a fully equipped computer lab courtesy of Cox Communications. It's not all play.

Down the hall there are several classrooms where children, instructed by real teachers, hone their skills or work on academic problem areas. Before you think, "What kid is going to study instead of play?" The answer is: They have no choice. Miller, Leon Hubbard, Tim Vinson, Artai Jackson, Hatcher and Debra Russell make sure of that.

Ten years ago there was a lot of fun poked at Hillary Clinton's book "It Takes a Village: And Other Lessons Children Teach Us." The main title was taken from an old African proverb: It takes a village to raise a child.

It's easy to jump on the anti-Hillary bandwagon, but be careful not to miss the message. It does take a village, and while no one knows how long the proverb has been around, probably hundreds of years, it's more applicable today than ever before.

Children are faced with more issues today than at any other time in human history. And if you're familiar with the neighborhoods surrounding the Thomas club, you know what I mean. Good people and good families live in the Ansley Acres neighborhood, but positive images don't float to the surface when you mention Village Green, right down the street from the club. Children come in contact with everyone, from pastors to grocery store clerks. All are part of the village, and all have an effect on them for good or ill.

In that mix stands the Thomas club, a fortress of refuge; a safe haven where children can play and learn and be children away from some of the challenges they face outside the walls of the club. It gives structure and reinforces discipline and provides positive role models for the children to see and emulate.

Yes, it does take a village, and I'm so glad Boys & Girls Clubs are part of the neighborhood.

Reprinted with permission by Charles Richardson, columnist for The Telegraph, which in located in Macon, Ga.