BUCKING THE SYSTEM: TAKE UP THE CHALLENGE TO BE PART OF THE SOLUTION

We didn't have many entertainment options when I was growing up in Charleston, Mo.

After school let out for the summer, we'd spend our early-morning hours finishing the household chores and heading outside. All the neighborhood kids would team up for pickup games of kickball, stickball, baseball, volleyball, dodgeball, and of course, lots of basketball. Those who couldn't or wouldn't play, like my sister-girlfriend, Tracy, would sit on the sidelines and become unofficial commentators of the games in progress.

In the evenings, there would be breaks along gender lines. The boys would go do ... well, whatever it was they went to do. As for the girls, we'd start doing cheers.

I don't know how others remember it, but when I was a girl, anybody could be a cheerleader, regardless of height, weight, complexion, or foot size. Of course, we didn't do normal school-spirit kinds of cheers, and we didn't perform at sporting events.

No, these were the I'm-starting-to-like-boys cheers performed under the street lights on the corner nearest everyone's house. Cheers with fun names like "On the List", "Sophisticated Lady" and "Get in the Car," all of which required you to state your name, zodiac sign and boyfriend or object-d'amour on the beat.

These were fun, but fleeting times, because all too soon the weather changed. First it became so hot -- anything over about 95 degrees -- that all we could do was spread a blanket underneath a big shade tree and hoping for a good breeze. And then the cold came. If it hadn't been for the high school basketball games in the winter, we probably would have lost our minds.

These were good times, but the fact was we didn't have anywhere to go. No place where we could find programs geared to our interests and dedicated to serving us. No place where the only request was that we be ourselves and enjoy one another.

I'm proud to say the youth of Cape Girardeau can claim such a haven. The Civic Center Boys and Girls Club is exactly what my friends and I used to dream about when we'd wander around complaining about the heat or sit shivering outside as we tried to break the ice on the basketball court enough for a half-hearted game of HORSE.

The Club is dedicated to youth programming and has everything from anti-drug programs to Tae-Bo classes.

It's not that we have the most money or the best-looking facility: In fact, our club is operating with limited funds and the building needs many improvements. But the great thing is the youth are coming ANYWAY. They're not worried about what we don't have, because their desires are similar to what my friends and I wanted so many years ago: They just want to have a safe place of their own where they can go.

I'm glad they're choosing us, but we're missing one element that would take us from being a good place for youth to a great place: A strong board of directors.

We need some of those adults in this community who say they care about our children and want to see conditions improve to step up to the plate and dedicate themselves for at least a year to making things happen.

So I'm sending out a call for help, a challenge to those who view it as such, for adults to get involved. Help us develop a vision that addresses the building problems, the transportation issues, the lack of funding, the shortage of community volunteers, and whatever else people talk about behind their hands and at their club meetings.

Stop talking about the problems and come help us find some solutions. But beware -- this is not for the faint at heart or the partially-devoted. I need people who are willing to come to meetings, work on committees, and be active and giving board members.

If you're up to the challenge, call me and request more information.

The kids are coming anyway: Let's give them a good reason to be here.

Tamara Zellars Buck is a staff writer for the Southeast Missourian.