By Keith Purtell
Jake Moravetz said he was getting into trouble before he started going to the Salvation Army’s Boys and Girls Club.
“I’ve been coming here three or four years,” said Moravetz, 16. “Before, I was bored, and when you get bored you do stupid stuff. I got in some trouble. Mostly fights; I fought a lot.”
Moravetz said a club manager named Rudale Wilson pulled him off the streets and got him involved in activities.
“I like to play basketball, pool, and pingpong, or just go to the cafe and talk to friends and drink a pop,” he said. “I get here between 3 or 4 p.m. and stay until it closes at 8.”
Having constructive activities for the past several years has changed his life, Moravetz said.
“I’m a whole lot less violent; I’m occupied a lot and I haven’t been bored, so I haven’t gotten into trouble,” he said. “I see quite a few even worse than me coming up here and doing even better.”
The sober-faced youngster praised the staff for making Boys and Girls Club work so well.
“I like their hands-on approach,” he said. “They ask the kids what they want for the center. The best thing about this place is friends; I like to come up here and hang out.”
Moravetz is fortunate to have a sister who lives close by, so he doesn’t have to walk home. Others are not so lucky. The Salvation Army has a van but can’t afford to pay drivers and hasn’t found volunteers to drive it.
“Some of the people here live over by the library and have to walk,” Moravetz said. “Some just ride bikes in groups.”
Ken Henshaw, unit director, said he worries a lot about the youngsters who don’t have a ride home.
“We have a big concern about kids walking home at 7 or 8 p.m.,” he said. “Some of them go across town. We have a 15-passenger van, but I can’t pay the staff. We need two adults to operate the van for about an hour and a half a night. We need a group we know will stick with us.”
Henshaw said he only has one volunteer so far.
“City Councilman Ivory Vann has said he will do it, but we don’t have a partner for him.”
The requirements to provide kids safe passage home are not strict.
“They just need to have a regular driver’s license,” Henshaw said. “We give them an online test before we sign them up. I prefer no one under the age of 21.”
Henshaw said the club wants to protect one particular group of kids.
“It’s the 13- to 18-year-olds in the evening events who are the kids we’re trying to keep from walking across town,” he said. “This is every night we have kids leaving.”
Activities offered at the club include a basketball league, computer lab, career class, a new music program, job ready classes, money matters and homework assistance.
How to help
If you or your organization can volunteer to drive youngsters safely home in a Salvation Army van, call 681-7903.
To volunteer
• American Legion Auxiliary, Post 15, is open to the child, daughter or wife of someone who has served in the military, 687-6171.
• Girl Scouts, 683-7738 or (877) 855-7738 to reach the Muskogee Magic Empire office. Call the Tulsa volunteer department at (800) 707-9914.
• Muskogee County Community Action, 1313 N. Main St., Erma Sallie, nutrition program outreach coordinator; Crystal Cotner, project director, 683-7637.
• Muskogee County Democratic Party, Barbara Staggs chairman, 869-8919.
• Muskogee County Republican Party, Jerry Huffer Chairman, 616-1747.
• Muskogee Regional Medical Center, Vicki Cormier, 684-2460.
• Boy Scouts of America, Richard Goforth, Neosho District Director, 207-7971.
• Court Appointed Speical Advocates, 686-8199, casaforchildren@sbcglobal.net
• Muskogee Nursing Center, 682-9232
• Magnolia Gardens, 683-8388.
• Grace Living Center, 683-2914.
• Eastgate Village Healthcare Center, 682-3191.
• Promoting Animal Welfare Society, PAWS, Dorothy Farmer, 686-7297.
• Jack C. Montgomery VA Medical Center, Greg Sorensen: 577-3621.
• Muskogee Regional Medical Center, Vicki Cormier: 684-2460.
• American Red Cross, Jordan Pool: 682-1366.
• RSVP (ages 55 and older): 683-1578.
• American Red Cross: 682-1366.
• Meals on Wheels, any of the following numbers: Geneva Doyal, 687-1119; Bethany Presbyterian Church, 682-8683; Grace Episcopal Church, 687-5416; St. Paul United Methodist Church, 687-7571.
• Muskogee Public Library, Friends of the Library and adult literacy tutoring: 682-6657.
• Muskogee Public Schools Mentoring Program, Paula Deen: 684-3700.
• Muskogee Garden Club, Martha Stoodley: 683-2373.
• Muskogee Farmers’ Market program with Gospel Rescue Mission to grow things for low-income people, Doug Walton: 686-6939.
• The Salvation Army needs people all year: 682-3384.
• Ark of Faith, 401 E. Broadway, Sally Weiesnbach, 682-8411.
• Boys and Girls Club Teen Center, 322 Callahan St. Help lead dance classes, sports programs, music classes, art classes. Background check needed. Contact: Ken Henshaw, 684-6345.
• SolAmor Hospice, Beth Kile: 686-6899.
• Disabled American Veterans. Help take veterans from home to and from Veterans Administration facilities including Jack C. Montgomery Medical Center, 1011 Honor Heights Drive, and Childers Outpatient Clinic, 9322 E. 41st Street, Tulsa. Volunteers must have a valid driver’s license, pass a brief physical examination and have background check. Contact: Jennifer Poston, 577-3737 or jennifer.poston@va.gov.
To be included in this list, e-mail news@muskogeephoenix.com.
Reach Keith Purtell at 918-684-2925 or Click Here to Send Email
