Young professionals reach out to kids

By Jennifer Preyss

For the AJC

A year ago, Club Blue president Justin Palmer led a team of 30 Blue members to the Social Circle Boys and Girls Club in Walton County. Their mission: to revitalize Social Circle’s dingy, colorless 7,000-square-foot building in two days with vibrant purple, turquoise, red, and lime green paint.

“It was great working with the kids, we had so much fun doing it,” Palmer said.

For Palmer, freshening up the facility symbolized the group’s passion for working with the community, while giving back to the nearly 200 children and teens who frequent the club.

But for Social Circle director Krystal Williams, a Boys and Girls Club alumni, the makeover project had a deeper meaning.

“Unfortunately, some of our kids don’t get to see the bright walls [in everyday life], it’s nothing but darkness with them. But when they walk in here it brightens their day,” Williams said, holding back tears. “So, it’s not just paint on the walls, it means a lot to them.”

The Social Circle project was one of many outreach efforts hosted in the past year by Club Blue, a group of about 200 young professionals who raise money and awareness for the Boys and Girls Clubs of metro Atlanta.

“The opportunity to impact our community here in Atlanta — there’s nothing I’d rather be doing,” said Palmer, who launched the affiliate group two years ago. “People are gravitating to Club Blue to make a difference. It’s our mission to lead young professionals [in doing that].”

Named for the Boys and Girls official club color, Club Blue provides an outlet for passionate philanthropists in their 20s, 30s and 40s who volunteer at the 29 BGCMA facilities in 13 counties. The club has raised about $20,000 for the group.

“You look in the eyes of these kids and it’s impossible not to act on their behalf.” Palmer said. “We match up the passions of [Atlanta’s young business community] with action.”

Palmer typifies the kind of members Club Blue attracts. An assistant vice president for BB&T Commercial Banking in Roswell, he was honored as one of Atlanta’s 2009 Power 30 Under 30 for his community work.

“Throughout American history, young people have made an impact on the very fabric of this country because we have an idealistic view of change,” Palmer said. “We don’t know what’s impossible.”

Williams still remembers Palmer’s enthusiasm the weekend of the Social Circle club makeover.

“[Justin] was awesome, he worked with a lot of our teen members, and even though he was only here for those two days, you can tell a bond was built with the older guys he was working with,” Williams said. “Hopefully [the kids] can look back and say, ‘You know what, I remember when I was at Social Circle and an individual like Justin came and volunteered and he showed me that it didn’t matter what type of life I came from, at the end of the day, giving back was important.’ ”

Rodrick Evans, 15, was one of the teen members who helped paint the club.

“At first I was kind of surprised, because we were used to seeing the same old building, but when we started to do work and saw people come in and help us paint it, it made me feel like I had a home here at Boys and Girls Club,” said Rodrick, who has been coming to the club since he was 7.

The Social Circle club has been instrumental in guiding him through school, allowing him to accomplish educational and life goals. He now sees a future in medicine, professional football or singing.

Through the BGCMA’s six core areas, including character and leadership and education and career development, students are demonstrating measurable results of success, graduating from high school and college at higher rates than the national average.