Scott Robinson has been affiliated with the Boys & Girls Club for more than 30 years, first as a member, then as a staff member in Santa Monica and now as the director of the Malibu Teen Center.
By Jonathan Persky/Special to The Malibu Times
Scott Robinson is a two-family man. His immediate family consists of a wife and two children. His extended family includes more than 400 people.
Robinson is currently the director of the Boys and Girls Club of Malibu Teen Center, and considers all the teenage members and their parents who pass through the doors of the Teen Center as his other, expansive family.
It was while in his mid-teens, when Robinson was trying to identify who he was and what he was going to be, that a staff member at the Santa Monica Boys Club (it was just the Boys Club until 1990) suggested he could help out at the club. Allan Young, then and now Robinson’s mentor, and currently president of the Boys and Girls Club of Santa Monica-Westside, recalls recognizing early on that “Scott always had great compassion for other people and lots of enthusiasm. I thought he would be good for the Boys and Girls Club.”
Laure Stern, one of the founders of the Malibu Teen Center, says of Robinson, “Scott is essential to the club. His energy is unbelievable. His dedication to each and every kid is great. The kids view him not as an authority figure, but as somebody they can play with and talk to. Scott gets kids to believe in themselves, respect each other and follow the club rules.”
“Scott is really good at taking on a program and rolling with it … taking something and making it better,” Young reflects. “When we were going to open up the Malibu branch, the first person I thought of to get that club rolling [was] Scott. … I knew he would make it work.”
In fact, the Boys and Girls Club has been part of Robinson’s life for more than 30 years. He recalls, as a young boy he frequently visited the Santa Monica club with his older brothers who thought it was a great place to spend time. As a teenager Robinson liked what the club was doing for him and how he felt when he was there. He believes that positive reinforcement, clear thinking, plenty of encouragement and other good things were instilled in him. Today, these are some of the values he tries to pass along to the girls and boys of Malibu.
“This club has really blossomed and taken off beyond everyone’s wildest dreams,” Robinson says of the Malibu club.
The founders of the Malibu club hoped the facility would serve 100 youths but, so far, more than 400 teens have participated in club programs.
Robinson says, “The activities and the programming work because there is a developing trust and respect between the kids and staff; and between the staff, the children and their parents.”
Young backs this view, saying, “Kids come to the club because they want to and not because they have to.”
Malibu High School student Melissa Caridad is a Teen Center member.
“The Boys & Girls Club is a really great place to get to know a lot of people,” she says. “When we are here, we are with our friends … I love coming to the club.”
Some of the programs offered at the club include the ‘Torch Club,’ which supports the concept of teens planning volunteer activities that will help the community. ‘SMART Moves’ is a program meant to educate students about the impact that alcohol, tobacco and teen pregnancy can have on their lives. ‘SWOOSH’ is a program that promotes physical fitness and organized sports, such as basketball games, for students at multiple skill levels.
‘Power Hour’ provides teenage students access to homework tutors from Pepperdine University in subjects such as English and Math.
At the Malibu club, teens also have the opportunity to learn different technical and trade skills.
High school students helped to design and maintain a resourceful Malibu-related Web page.
Member Kelly Wortham says she “loves the Web club. I have learned all kinds of interesting (computer) stuff, including how to create a Web page.”
Learning about the recording industry and how to become an engineer at the club’s music studio, and studying editing, set design and film directing are other programs the club offers, including one about health and wellness issues.
Stern hopes the club will be able to provide more counseling services and helpful resources for the children.
“Information that will help them with college and career preparation. We want to get the kids ready for the outside world, to help them make decisions on what they will do when they graduate high school. Not every kid is a four-year college kid. Some kids want to go to work right away. Some want to take time off. We want to help get every kid ready for stepping into the outside world as an adult.”
While the highlight of his job involves interacting with teens, Robinson also has administrative duties to execute. He attends the “Student Success Team” weekly meetings where he gets together with the school principal, psychologist and others to discuss the needs and support some teens may require that are not immediately obvious to one individual. By brainstorming with other professionals the teens interact with on a daily basis, administrators are able to come up with ways to provide extra motivation to students struggling to get through school.
Robinson is also responsible for growing the resources of the club. He meets with community leaders to see what kind of exchanges they can make. Perhaps they can teach a class, mentor a teen or sponsor a specific program. Robinson oversees the writing of grants, promotes the Back-A-Youth campaign and participates in organizing fundraisers. He is looking forward to the Malibu Foundation for Youth and Families “Celebration for Youth!” fundraiser on June 15. It is organized by some of the founders of the club, including parents Laure and Daniel Stern. The purpose of this event is to raise enough money to help subsidize the programs at the club, to keep the club open and to make it affordable to all teens in the community.
“It’s vital that we raise this money to support the programs for the youths,” Robinson says.
Robinson does not work at the Teen Center alone. He has a staff of eight to thank.
“They are a team of caring adults that really work together,” Robinson says. “They believe in making a difference in the lives of the teens.”
Many have contributed to the club either through time, a product or money to help it grow and keep the doors open.
“Malibu High School was kind enough to give us space for the club. Members of the Malibu Contractors Association helped to build the club. The city gave some financial support,” Robinson says. “There are many people who volunteered their time to build the facility. People are the greatest resource.”
Robinson is proud of what has been accomplished in only a couple years at the Malibu Teen Center.
After spending more than 30 years developing relationships with children, parents and business partners in Santa Monica, his decision to leave “home” was hard. However, he feels the citizens of Malibu have truly welcomed him and the club to the neighborhood. The community understands what the Boys & Girls club is and what “we do for the kids,” remarks Scott.
“People are really taking an interest in maintaining the club in Malibu. People say we can’t change the world, but if you change one kid into a positive kid, then that kid’s changing the world, because that kid is changing the rest of the kids he is around. So it’s powerful what we do at the club and I am happy to be part of it.”