Union’s Boys & Girls Club renamed in honor of Dr. Marcia Hawkins

Rachel Dorroh • June 6, 2024

Union Commonwealth University’s Board of Trustees announced at their spring meeting that Union’s Boys & Girls Club will be renamed in honor of retiring President Dr. Marcia Hawkins. The new name is as follows: the Dr. Marcia Hawkins Boys and Girls Club at Union Commonwealth University.

“Dr. Hawkins played a pivotal role in establishing the Club, and it’s an innovative model other colleges and universities have adopted since,” says Chair of the Board Mike Goss.

Union’s Club opened in 2017, after Hawkins had spent two years researching, advocating, and cultivating key partnerships to support it. At the time, there were only four other college-based Clubs in the country, and rural locations were unusual, due to difficulty maintaining funding.

Union Club kids gather around a volleyball net in a field of bright green grass with Coach Jeremy Wise and Athletic Trainer Shea Hoffman. Everyone is wearing t-shirts and shorts, and one child is jumping to strike a descending volleyball. A few houses are visible in the background.

“I met with the Regional Director of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) in Chicago and discovered that, coincidentally, as Union was looking into the possibility of opening a Club on campus, BGCA was looking to expand their rural presence,” Hawkins recalls.

[PHOTO: Union's Club kids participate in a volleyball clinic with Coach Jeremy Wise and Athletic Trainer Shea Hoffman.]

In Kentucky, there was only one Club east of I-75 – the Cawood Ledford Club in Harlan. Hawkins viewed it as “a model of success,” and wanted children and families in Knox County to have access to the same quality after-school and summer programming offered there.

She believed that opening a Union Club, not just located on campus but owned and operated by Union, could provide the resources and stable funding stream needed to keep it open. To meet requirements set by the BGCA, however, she needed another Club to serve as sponsor.

Hawkins reached out to the Harlan Club’s Board and pitched her idea to them. They agreed to sponsor the new Club, and this soon led to the creation of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Appalachia, which is now the umbrella organization both sites fall under.

“Dr. Hawkins has served on the Board since we adopted the Union Club and has been an amazing champion and advocate for our organization and for its growth,” says CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Appalachia Kateena Haynes. “We now have five clubs in Harlan and Knox County, and we'll have four to five more by the end of 2024.”

[PHOTO: In September, Hawkins was inducted into the Kentucky Alliance Hall of Fame for her pioneering work in establishing and promoting collegiate-based Boys & Girls Clubs.]

Each Club site provides a safe, positive environment for children in grades K-12 when school is out. After-school programming is free-of-charge to families and includes a range of enrichment and recreational activities as well as homework help and nutritious snacks and meals. The curriculum features six core areas: Sports & Recreation, Education, the Arts, Health & Wellness, Workforce Readiness, and Character & Leadership. Programs designed to develop healthy habits and prevent drug use are built into the Club experience, too.

“The Board of Trustees believes it’s important for Union to have strong connections with the community. I can’t think of a better way to connect with and support our neighbors,” Goss says. “The Club is also a great way to get our students engaged with the community.”

Many Union students serve as volunteers and interns at the Club, which is a special aspect of this win-win partnership. The students learn valuable real-world lessons and develop job skills while helping the Club serve the community and stay open.

“This model fits perfectly into the Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s strategy for increasing and sustaining rural programs,” Hawkins explains.

Four Club kids read books together, sitting on red, green, blue, and yellow bean bags with a drawing of a tree with a hole in the center visible behind them. Two kids hold a book with a large shark on the cover while a third looks on behind them. To their right, another child reads a book with a purple cover.

Since opening in 2017, Union’s Club has served hundreds of families and has documented a rise in literacy rates among the children served. Summer camps, field trips, guest speakers, and a chance for kids to acclimate to life on a college campus are also key components of the Club experience. These early exposures help children become more curious about the world around them, spark their passion for service and learning, and help them feel at home with the idea of pursuing higher education.

[PHOTO: Club kids reading together.]

“I believe the impact of our Union Boys and Girls Club on the health and learning of the region’s children and teens will continue to grow and that a greater percentage of them will see Union as a door to a great future,” Hawkins says.

Hawkins became the first woman to serve as President of Union in 2012. She had also been the first in her family to attend college, and during her tenure, she has prioritized making higher education more accessible and affordable for others than it was for her. In addition to the renaming of Union’s Club, the new Dr. Marcia Hawkins Leadership Award was announced at the spring Honors Convocation. When Hawkins retires at the end of June, the many programs she created during her 12 years of service will continue to benefit both campus and community for many years to come.

“I am overwhelmed by the Board’s decision to name the Club in my honor,” Hawkins says. “It is undoubtedly the best retirement gift I could ever imagine.”

The Dr. Marcia Hawkins Boys & Girls Club at Union Commonwealth University is located in the Union Center for Health and Learning at 105 Center Street in Barbourville. Both the Knox County Public Schools and the Barbourville Independent School Districts offer bus transportation to the site. For more information about the Club or opening an additional site in your area, contact Kateena Haynes at (606) 546-1717.

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