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Local
New Director Credited With Growth Of Plant City Boys And Girls Club
BY LEON B. CREWS Sentinel Staff Writer
Mulberry, Florida native Mary Pearson credits her love of education and working with children to her grand- mothers, who were both edu- cators.
Growing up as a “latch-key kid,” Ms. Pearson said she didn’t know if she wanted to get into law enforcement or become an educator.
“I decided to be an educa- tor. I graduated from Florida Southern University with a degree in Elementary Educa- tion, and off I went.
“I developed a deep pas- sion for children interacting with them at hospitals. I got into the Boys and Girls Club by submitting a resume, and starting off as a program di- rector in 2013.”
That was Ms. Pearson’s entrance into the Plant City Boys and Girls club, and last year, she was director of the club.
“When I first got here, we had about 40 kids in the pro- gram. Last year, our numbers increase, and now I have 104 kids at the club.
“I accomplished that by passing out business cards to anyone I came into contact with, and I’d approach par- ents every chance I got to tell them about the club. I did a ton of networking, and I really haven’t stopped.”
Ms. Pearson said she sees about 88 kids a day.
“On Mondays, I always have a full house. Then I get the teens coming in after school.
“When enrollment in- creased to 104, that exceeded my expectations. I’m con- stantly thinking of ways on how to better serve the kids and make sure they’re happy. They are my priority, and I
MARY PEARSON
shut down all distractions so I can concentrate on them.”
Ms. Pearson has a staff of 7 part-time staff members who work directly with the kids, and she’s grateful be- cause that allows her to deal with other things going on at the Club.
“In the beginning, I think
there was very little interest given to growth at the club. Because I consider myself a social butterfly, it was easy for me to get out and talk to peo- ple.
“I enjoy interacting with the parents and they all have my personal cell phone num- ber.”
Ms. Pearson has no chil- dren of her own, and said she spends her spare time travel- ing or working hard for her sorority, Delta Sigma Theta.
“I stay in contact with the directors of Clubs in the sur- rounding counties to get ideas. All of the Clubs are dif- ferent.
“I run a tight structure, and we don’t have a discipline problem at all. All of the kids know what I expect of them and what they expect of them- selves.”
One Church One Child Plans Education Forum
REV. BEVERLY HILLS LANE ...President, Florida Board of Directors
One Church One Child of Florida is hosting an Educa- tion Forum, Thursday, May 14, 2015 from 6-7:30 p. m. This free information ses- sion will be held at the C. Blythe Andrews, Jr. Public Library, 2607 E. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd., Tampa. The community is invited to attend and learn more about adopting, foster- ing, mentoring, volunteering or supporting efforts on be- half of Florida’s children in foster care.
At any given time, ap- proximately 800 children in Florida’s foster care system are waiting to be adopted by a family - married couple or single person.
One Church One Child was founded in 1980 to help the State of Illinois address the disproportionate num- ber of African American chil- dren lingering in the foster care system in need of adop- tion. The program was im- plemented in Florida in March of 1988 to address its overrepresentation problem.
LAKAY FAYSON ...Recruitment Coordinator
One Church One Child of Florida, a faith-based, 501(c)3 non-profit organiza- tion, works in partnership with the Florida Department of Children and Families, churches, Community- Based Care Lead Agencies and their providers to help find loving forever homes for children throughout the State of Florida.
One Church One Child of Florida’s mission is to: “find at least one family in each church to adopt, foster or mentor at least one child.”
Rev. Beverly Hills Lane, Pastor of Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church, serves as President of the Florida State Board of Directors and as Regional Vice-President for National One Church One Child.
Please RSVP to LaKay Fayson, Recruitment Coor- dinator, call (813) 985-7831; email lakay_fayson@ococ fl.org; or visit One Church One Child of Florida’s web- site at www.ococfl.org.
FRIDAY, MAY 1, 2015 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 9-A