BUENA PARK : Director Has Longtime Ties to Club
Ruben Alvarez Jr. proudly takes a worn card out of his wallet to show a visitor. It’s a card he has carried for 25 years and it reads: Membership No. 279. On the back is the code of honesty and sportsmanship.
It is Alvarez’s membership card to the then-Boys Club of Santa Ana, which he joined when he was 8.
Because of his past involvement with the club, Alvarez, now 33, has chosen a career to help youngsters become leaders and make positive decisions in their lives.
For the past nine years, the Santa Ana-reared Alvarez has worked at boys and girls clubs in Orange County, and, more recently, in Las Vegas.
“I may not be as talented as Michael Jackson or as gifted as Michael Jordan, but I definitely have a skill I can share with others, and that is bringing out leadership skills in kids,” said Alvarez, who, as a youngster, also participated in the Keystone Club, a leadership program.
Last month, after spending 14 months at a boys and girls club in Las Vegas, Alvarez landed a job back in his home county as program director for the Boys and Girls Club of Buena Park.
“We’re absolutely thrilled to have someone the caliber of Ruben, especially someone who grew up in the Boys and Girls Club,” said Jean Morgan, executive director of the Buena Park club. “Growing up in the Boys and Girls Club, you know the philosophy of the club and you can relate to the children because you’ve been there.”
Club member Alfredo Juarez, 15, said Alvarez is an inspiration to him and the other youths.
“He understands what the kids are going through,” said Juarez, who is also a member of the Keystone Club. “When they need help, he’s there for them no matter what. . . . He’s a great guy.”
Alvarez, who started as a part-time photography instructor at the Boys and Girls Club of Santa Ana in 1984, agreed that being a club alumnus gives him an advantage.
“I think it’s important for kids to see that you can do something positive with your life,” he said. “It helps them to understand because I’ve been a member and have been through it.”
Alvarez said the needs of club members have changed over the years.
No longer is the club just a place for youngsters to hang out after school and fill their idle time by playing games. It’s a place where learning has moved to the forefront of club priorities.
“The club is a home away from home for kids nowadays,” Alvarez said. “At school they’re lectured to, and at home they have parents who work. And in today’s society, there’s not that much interaction between parents and youth. The club is a unique situation where we listen and communicate with the kids.”
The 40-year-old Buena Park club has been remodeled to include a library and a computer lab. Alvarez said he plans on expanding programs to help the club’s 1,450 members stand up to peer pressure and become leaders instead of followers.
Alvarez said among new programs will be Smart Moves, which is designed to help youngsters say no to drugs, alcohol, tobacco, gangs and sex.
“Smart Moves deals with the empowerment of the youth with special skills to help them cope in today’s society,” he said. “If you can teach kids to be leaders, then they won’t be following anybody else because they’ll know how to stand on their own two feet.”
Alvarez, married to Linda Alvarez and the father of a 1-year-old daughter, Risa, considers himself a role model, especially to Latino club members.
“I think it’s important for kids to see that you don’t have to be a dishwasher or wash cars--that you can really strive to be the best you can be,” he said.