SUMTER, S.C. — A resource in Sumter is getting $10,000 in honor of Black History Month.
The South Sumter Gym serves seniors and kids in a low to moderate income community. Now, it will be seeing some improvements through a grant from Duke Energy.
“I usually do arts and crafts or I make new inventions or I usually learn how to play basketball more,” 8-year-old Khori Henry said about her time at the South Sumter Gym’s afterschool program, once she’s done her homework with mentors.
“It helps me get educated and get good grades. So I could pass, so I could go to college," third-grader Jaiden Pearson explained.
Amonta Johnson says he enjoys learning lessons from the staff members, who teach kids from 5 to 12 years old about school subjects and life skills.
“We usually read books and if we have homework, we do it. And then after that we have snack and after that we clean and after that then we read about God and stuff,” Johnson, a student at Millwood Elementary, detailed. “Because God, He's like, He's everything. We love God. and all I want to read about is God. Every time I read about God, it makes me happy.”
“If you be kind and all that and then you can…and if you graduate high school and college and all that, you can have a job,” 10-year-old Justice Rhodes said about what he’s learned from the program. “You can be in the Army. You can do stuff for your mom and dad and grandma and you can help other people.”
They’re lessons taught by Team Perseverance Athletics Owner Junko Allen, who the city contracts out to help with programs.
“For them to live in that type of environment to come here and tell me that they feel safe here, that means everything,” Allen said about the kids she helps serve. “They know they can come here and feel safe, talk to us about anything. And know we're going to love on them.”
Allen says the programs will be improved using the grant money, which will go toward workout equipment.
“It’s such a blessing, like, out of the blue,” Allen smiled.
The grant is for Black History Month because of the community South Sumter Gym serves, says the city’s Support Services Director Lefford Fate.
“South Sumter Gym is a program that we have for the youth, for the citizens, for the people that live in this low to moderate income level. You know, a lot of people in this area don't have transportation, they can't get to a lot of different places. And we said what can we do in this location to provide those services for our community partners? So we get to do a lot here from athletics, to education, to fitness to medical understanding of what's going on in the general community. I like to call this a spot where all the good information can be at one spot, a one stop shop,” Fate explained. “This area is a predominantly Black area and it just shows that we are here to care about who's here and so it means a lot to me that you can look at a group of people, doesn’t matter what color you are, no matter where you came from, no matter how old you are. We all care about each other. And when we care about each other, it's just special. That diversity is awesome.”
Also, diversity in ages is represented in the gym’s programming. In addition to the afterschool program, the gym also has programs for seniors, which Mayor David Merchant says is helpful.
“Oftentimes our seniors do get overlooked so it is nice to be able to come along and support them. Just help them with programs, get them out of the house as well, just get them interacting with other neighbors and just you know fight loneliness,” Merchant shared. “We want to support our entire community, all sides, whatever. You know, it's ‘One Sumter’ and we want to do that.”
“I hope we get some more people to come in and enjoy our seniors because we enjoy ourselves and we enjoy having family and friends together,” Joann Miller, who attends the senior classes, shared. “We love the smiles, I love the comradery of being with my peers since we’re seniors.”
“It’s beautiful,” senior Willie Washington added. “You come together, enjoy each other.”
If you’re interested in the afterschool program, Allen says there are plenty of spots available. For people who live in a three-mile radius, it’s free. For people outside of that radius, it’s $25 a week. To fill out the application, you can visit the gym at 630 S. Sumter St.