Reggie Coleman knows all too well that sometimes the career path we set out to walk doesn’t lead to the dream we envision. But he would add that missing out on one dream might lead to something we never expected.
The Hamilton resident grew up in West Trenton and graduated from what was once known as McCorristin High School, now Trenton Catholic Academy. He played basketball at the Urban League’s West Ward rec center.
And like many young men who grow up in New Jersey, guys who live between two cities which host pro-sports teams and popular sports announcers, a younger Reggie Coleman carried dreams of landing a career in one of those two professions.
Graduating from Upsala College in East Orange in 1995, with a degree in communications, Coleman worked several jobs as he “tried to figure things out.” He applied to the Boys and Girls Club of Mercer County for the position of athletic director.
The club called back six months later, wanting to hire him for a new position, that of education director. That all happened in 1998.
Now, 24 later, Coleman has been named the new CEO of the Boys and Girls Club of Mercer County, and Coleman couldn’t be more excited to become the face of an organization he has grown to love. “This hasn’t simply been a profession,” said Coleman. “It’s been a way of life.”
Coleman and his wife Victoria, who works in healthcare, have two sons. Reggie (not a Jr.), 30, works in sports entertainment, and Devon, 19, is a student at Middlesex County Community College. His mom, Regina, worked in banking before stepping away to take care of her mother. Coleman’s dad, James, died 23 years ago.
Paul Ashley, chairman of the board of directors for the Boys and Girls Club of Mercer County, says Coleman is “an outstanding leader and advocate for our clubs and the young people they serve.”
“When it came time this year to elect a new CEO, our board of directors voted for him unanimously. He’s a leader, a mentor and a friend to everyone from our club kids to the staff and the board. We’re confident his depth of knowledge about the club and commitment to everyone will ensure the club’s future success.”
The 49-year-old Coleman spoke about his very first days as education director for the organization.
“I wasn’t even in the office,” he said. “The administration sent me to Princeton University to be trained in a new Boys and Girls Club curriculum called Be Proud, Be Responsible.”
The curriculum focused on AIDS education, and Coleman learned how to teach that curriculum to the children and teens who would attend his club.
The history of the Boys and Girls club nationally is interesting. Started in Connecticut in 1860 as the Dashaway Club, in 1880, the club was renamed The Good Will Club. By 1906, in Massachusetts, a group of individual clubs became The Federated Boys Club of Boston. More clubs followed that lead and by 1931, the Boys Club of America was born.
Locally, the Boys Club of Trenton began in 1937. Organized by seven men, including James Kearney Jr. and Joseph Roebling, the club taught trade skills to area boys.
By 1985, the Boys Club of Trenton, admitted girls, five years before the national organization opened admission to girls in 1990. Eventually, the Boys and Girls Club of Trenton, extended its reach beyond the city proper and became the Boys and Girls Club of Mercer County. The organization is celebrating its 85th anniversary this year.
Coleman noted that over time, the Boys and Girls Club of Mercer County, or BGC, has changed from a “gym and swim” organization to a place where members can learn more about themselves through the many offerings BGC provides. The club specializes in after-school programming which introduces members to STEM or creating vegetable gardens, for example.
“When I started,” Coleman said, “we served 300 members annually and had a budget of $300,000. Now, BGC serves 2,600 members and has an annual budget of $6 million.”
The Boys and Girls Club of Mercer County serves members in several locations. The organization maintains two physical locations, one at 212 Centre St. in Trenton, and another at 1040 Spruce St. in Lawrence Township.
BGC also runs after-school programs at ten local schools in Trenton and Ewing. Members pay $30 a year to belong to the club. “One has to be a member to participate in additional programming,” Coleman said.
The national Boys and Girls Club supports member clubs with curriculum. The costs to participate in these added activities are adjusted based on need. BGC also provides scholarships.
“We never turn kids away,” Coleman emphasized. “We just try to figure it out.”
Coleman seems never to be afraid of figuring things out. And in this instance, figuring out the financial piece can look like many things. Coleman said sometimes board members reach into their pockets; or, the organization writes grants, or holds fundraisers.
Programs run for 10 months during the school year. BGC also runs a 10-week summer camp. There is an outdoor pool at the club’s Centre Street location.
Coleman beams with pride when he talks about the program BGC runs for pre-teens and teens, something few organizations do in the area.
“We put more time and money into high school kids,” Coleman said. BGC doesn’t merely stress college after high school. The organization is more global in its message, encouraging kids to look at a variety of options, including the trades.
To that end, BGC offers a College Access program and a Career Launch program. The club gives teen members an opportunity to learn how to fix bicycles, or to learn the ins-and-outs of becoming a childcare assistant. The organization also runs SAT prep programs and teaches students how to fill out college applications.
These teen programs run out of the Spruce Street center. The club also collaborates with The Father Center by providing busing for 15 students from Trenton’s 9th Grade Academy who attend The Father Center’s Healthy Relationships/Healthy Choices program.
“What we’re doing goes beyond our four walls,” Coleman observed, adding: “great futures start here.”
Coleman began his new position in July, taking the reins from David Anderson, who led the organization for 20 years. And once again, Coleman is on a learning curve, much like when he started in 1998.
He will be attending CEO classes offered by the national Boys and Girls Club–an organization with 4,000 U.S.-based member clubs, including ones located on military bases and Native American reservations.
Locally, Coleman noted, “we’re going through a two-year strategic plan, to make sure the current transition goes well and the organization continues to grow.”
The organization wants to cultivate more volunteers to lead programming. Funding is always an on-going process, and to that end, Coleman would like to reach more individual donors for the funding stream. Donors like Russ White of Princeton, the creator of the Boys & Girls Clubs Bike Exchange in Ewing.
White is a co-owner of Princeton eBikes, along with Jay and Theresa Wrobel of Lawrence. They have donated profits from the BGC Bike Exchange to the organization, an amount now in excess of $100,000.
Like most of us, Coleman’s life has had its challenges. However, when you meet him, one is immediately taken in by his tremendously broad smile. He knows how fortunate he has been to find the perfect job which stokes his passion of making life better for children.
He wants to continue to grow the Boys and Girls Club of Mercer County by reaching into other neighboring school districts. He knows his staff and volunteers provide excellent after-school programming.
When asked how much longer he sees himself working with BGC, he grins and says: “It would be nice if I could take the Boys and Girls Club of Mercer to our 100th anniversary.”
Web: bgcmercer.org.
Long-time staffer Reggie Coleman has been named the new CEO of The Boys and Girls Club of Mercer County.,
