A few things hit you the moment you walk into former Probasketballplayer George Gervin’s office. First is his sheerheight, at 6’7” he towers over everyone else in the room. Next, isthe smile that engulfs the lower half of his face. Finally, is the surprisethat this famous man has dedicated his life to improving thelives of the youth of San Antonio since hanging up his laces.
A player for Virginia Squires, the Chicago Bulls and the SanAntonio Spurs, Gervin could have done anything he wanted afterhe retired. A native Detroiter, he chose instead to move to San Antonioand fulfill a lifetime dream.
In 1988 Gervin founded the George Gervin Youth Center,Inc, a 501 (c) (3) Non–profit to provide an array of services forSan Antonio’s at–risk youth. In 1996, theGeorge Gervin Academy opened, oneof the first Charter Schools in Texas,which today has two campuses. Notsatisfied with just the Academy whichstrives to educate children from Pre–Kindergarten to twelfth grade and a fewservices; Gervin turned his sights tomore supplementary programs, as wellas programs that encompassed manyother age groups. There is the GeorgeGervin Learning Center, the AcademyTechnology Center Campus, Youth–Build San Antonio, a CosmetologyProgram, and a Comprehensive YouthDevelopment Program.
The center also offers a TransitionalLiving Program, which provides clean,safe, affordable living for students whohave aged out of the foster care systembut are not ready to be on their own. Gervin has also provided asanctuary for those requiring emergency shelter — runaways, andhomeless pregnant or parenting teens for up to nine months. Inpartnership with the City of San Antonio, homeless families whoare victims from hurricane Katrina and Rita receive temporaryshelter here as well. The Newell Center provides residential livingto low–income senior citizens and offers an opportunity to involveresidents in the mentoring program for students, and programparticipants.
A visit to the center quickly shows that each program is speciallydesigned to meet a specific need. It is definitely not a ‘cookiecutter’ approach to education or learning but a comprehensiveone recognized by those served and leaders of the San Antoniocommunity which includes Ms. Julianna Hawn Holt and Mr. PeterM. Holt, Spurs Chairman. The Holts recently donated $500 thousandtoward the center’s $15 million capital expansion campaignover the next three to five years in what George describes as a“tears of joy” ceremony. “People should come on down to see thegreat things happening at the Academy,” Holt told NSIDE duringthe February 2008 press conference. “George is truly making a differencein these kids lives. It’s a wonderful thing.”
The idea for a learning center was birthed when Gervin wasplaying professional basketball. However, its roots stem from whenhe was a young boy living on the east side of Detroit. His mother, asingle parent was raising six children, and to make sure they stayedsafe and busy while she was working, she enrolled them in a varietyof after–school clubs and programs. Gervin knows from firsthand experience these programs work. “If you keep a child busy,stimulated and interested that child will be less likely to go to thestreets and look for trouble,” this deep–voiced gentleman maintains.“Kids have very definite ideas about life, and we can helpthem with those ideas and keep them on track.”
Youth Build San Antonio started small, like most other programs.“I remember our original campus was a strip mall,” Gervinchuckles. “Then we purchased an old warehouse and convertedit and updated it and made it into aschool. My whole drive to start the programwas looking at the statistics. 3.5million kids drop out of school at theninth grade level, and I saw a need toimplement a school that would reachthose kids.” Gervin goes on to explainthat many of these kids are smart, butthey don’t learn the way mainstreamkids do. He believes part of the issuelies with programs like ‘No ChildLeft Behind’. “The kids are expected toperform, and to learn for the test. Theteachers don’t have time to deal withthose kids who don’t learn the ‘conventionalway’.’” And don’t even get Gervinstarted on what happens with thosekids who might have a learning disabilitylike dyslexia. He has seen firsthandhow easy it is for them to get lostin the system and promoted to the next grade even though theyare struggling.
Gervin also deals with older youth who are at risk for droppingout, or who choose not to further their education but needsomething more than the schools can offer. “College is really notfor everybody, and some kids don’t want to attend college, but theyneed a skill, and trade schools are sorely lacking in today’s society.I remember when I was in high school my counselor said thateveryone should learn a trade. You always need plumbers, electricians,carpenters, and mason workers.” Gervin encourages hisstudents to become skilled in a trade and make money doing it.“Sometimes having the skills and earning money makes that personrealize that perhaps they would like to further their education,and now they have the means to pay for it themselves and theytake pride in themselves for what they have already accomplished.That really helps when they are faced with something new or evenscary, like going to college, or furthering their education.”
Gervin recalls one particular incident where a young man approachedhim while he was grocery shopping. For a period of timeGeorge had hired an instructor to teach the students how to drivelarge machinery. This young man was one of those students and hewas excited to tell George how he had a great paying job becausehe had been taught this great skill. He explained that without thecenter to help him, he would not be where he was today.
Gervin speaks with authority about this subject. Growing upon the east side of Detroit in the 1950s and 1960s was not easy andthere were many times it would have been simple for him to dropout of school or just give up altogether. “I remember seeing the B4s(the heavily armored tanks used by the police) on the street, pointingtheir guns at us and we were kids! (He was 15 at the time of the1967 riots.) It would have been easy to give in to the thought thatI was no good.” Gervin gives his mother all the credit for how wellhe, and his siblings have turned out. “You know, even though wehad to use food stamps, and wait in bread lines and even though wewere sometimes given food, I never believed I was poor becausewe had someone to take care of us and love us.”
It is not his success in basketball or in business that allows himto mentor students, it is how he grew up. He can reason with a kidwho is taking a side road in life and if he gets him back on the rightpath, he knows he has done something right. “Actually to me it isgodly,” Gervin says. He tells the students they have two ways to getan education, they can either do their 1–12 years in school or in jail.It sounds harsh he maintains, but it is a reality. Statistics are on hisside; kids who get an education don’t often get into trouble.
Currently 600 students are part of the youth center; and they allface challenges of one kind or another, and most of them come fromfinancially disadvantaged homes. Once they enter the center theyknow they will be treated as individuals and their specific learningstyle taken into consideration. The curriculum is well–rounded andaddresses the different issues that may face each student.
Gervin has big plans for the future of his Academy. There is anexpansion plan underway, and Gervin would like to build a Fitnessand Wellness center and start nutrition classes. He sees thatkids do not understand the value of exercise and diet and believesthat these are essential issues that must be addressed. Althoughhe no longer plays professional basketball, his son Gee (George)helps Gervin run a summer basketball camp.
He has also started a program he calls the ‘Dollhouse’. “Youknow, we have babies raising babies. This is a center where wetake care of pregnant teens, and help them with the issues theyface. We educate them on healthy eating during pregnancy, andabout looking after their infants once they are born.”
At the end of the day, even though Gervin is still the Spurs’ alltimeleader in field goals made (9,201), field goal attempts (18,111)and points (23,602), he is more interested in relationships and inhearing good reports from students who have graduated fromhis Academy. “I was at the top of my profession, at the top of mygame and I am thrilled to receive all the honors I have, includingmy entry into the Hall of Fame. But at the end of day if someonecomes up to me and says, ‘I graduated from your program andnow I have a great job,’ that tops all of it.”
When asked how he runs his business, Gervin doesn’t evenhesitate, “Like a team.” And it is apparent that family and maintainingrelationships are important to him. “If you look at theSpurs, the reason they are so good is everyone knows their place,they know what to do. It’s the same here – we all have our roles,our places and we play our part.” He concludes, “We are all proudof the center; and we share a common goal – to help the studentsto see what it takes to make it in this world.”
