Longtime college football coach, player praises Boys & Girls Clubs
Published 1:12 pm Wednesday, March 7, 2018
- Matt Hamilton/Daily Citizen-NewsFormer NFL player and college football coach Bill Curry speaks to children at the Boys and Girls Club in Dalton on Thursday. Curry was the speaker at the organization's annual Stake Dinner.
DALTON, Ga. — Bill Curry says he’s long admired the work done by Boys and Girls Clubs.
“They provide a safe, nurturing place for kids where they can play and be kids but also learn things,” he said.
That’s especially important these days, he said, when many children live in single-parent homes.
“The child may get out of school before the mom or dad gets off work,” he said. “But parents know they can come to the Boys and Girls Club and be safe until they can pick them up.”
Curry was the speaker Thursday night at the annual Stake Dinner fundraiser for the Boys and Girls Clubs Serving Chattooga, Gordon, Murray and Whitfield Counties at the Crosspointe Christian Centre.
A graduate of Georgia Tech where he played football under coach Bobby Dodd, Curry played in the NFL for 10 seasons and was part of teams that won two Super Bowls and an NFL championship. After his NFL career ended, he went into coaching, serving as head coach of Georgia Tech, the University of Alabama, the University of Kentucky and as the first coach at Georgia State University.
Jason Finnell, vice president for advancement at the Boys and Girls Clubs, said Curry was chosen because he is a dynamic speaker whose story of accomplishment resonates with youth.
“Last year, we served 2,300 children and teens in seven clubs in four counties,” Finnell said.
He said the Stake Dinner raises nearly 10 percent of the club’s $1.5 million annual operating budget.
Jose Ojeda, a fifth-grader at Christian Heritage School, has been involved with the Boys and Girls Club since he was in kindergarten.
“I like the people here. They always find interesting things for us to do,” he said. “It’s a really good program. It’s a place for kids to come. We not only have fun, we get help with school. It helps parents out, too, because kids can come here and stay until they get out of work and can pick up their kids.”
Allen Molina, 17, was named the organization’s Youth of the Year at the dinner.
“I’ve been coming to the Boys and Girls Club for eight or nine years,” he said. “It’s a place to get to know people and have fun. But it’s not just a place to hang out. We have people here who can help us if we have problems at school, or really anywhere. You can talk to them. Kids feel safe here.”
