Levern Keels – Closing the Gap of Middle Georgia

Closing the Gap of Middle Georgia is an organization that is focused on projecting positivity throughout the community. Vice President, Levern Keels explained that it is “about bridging the gap between the generations, between socioeconomic, mental, whatever the issues are – trying to make a positive impact on the community.”

The official mission statement, as relayed on their website, “is to offer positive solutions and to be a resource for economic, educational, and family empowerment within the middle Georgia area.” It is “a non-profit community outreach organization established to improve the outcome of our communities, by supporting our children, combating economic insecurity, building community security, and helping improve the state of our community.”

Keels added, “It’s everybody’s community, and if you want the community to be better, you have to work at it.”

The idea for the organization grew from Friday night teen meetings to what it is today, when “we started seeing a need for other things,” Allen Williams, lineman with Flint Energies and volunteer at Closing the Gap stated. He explained that many of their members hail from single-family homes, and once the children became involved, their families were close to follow, giving the group a collective sense of family as well.

“We’re trying to mentor these kids and capture them early, and show them that there’s a way to have a good life, without being a gang banger, or using drugs. You can work and earn a good living, and some of us are examples of where we came from not having much of anything, but have done well in life,” Keels said. “We’re trying to expose them to positive things; that’s really what this is about. And we also try to get individuals who have been blessed to give something back to the community.”

They partner with a variety of businesses, organizations, and other nonprofit groups but it is run strictly on volunteer hours. “We have people who volunteer time and come out; there’s no pay,” he continued.

Williams explained that membership and volunteer opportunities are “open to anyone.” Keels stated that although they offer services primarily in Houston and Peach Counties, they do branch out to surrounding counties as well. Secretary, Laura Curtis stated that they first began meeting (with only about nine members) at the end of 2016 and officially became an LLC in 2017. Both Keels and Williams have been involved with the group for approximately two years. The president of the organization is Larry Curtis.

Closing the Gap offers a plethora of resources, services, programs, opportunities to network, and more for children, teens, and adults, some of which include CPR training, career fairs, summer camp (last year’s attendance was about 40 children), women’s groups, men’s groups, a chess club, classes on finance (personal and business), how to start a business, how to buy a car, how to buy a house, how to correct any problems with credit history, and regular classes on improving one’s resume, and on the interviewing process. They have also provided golf mentoring and activities, as well as babysitting services to help parents get a night out.

Keels discussed fundraisers they have held, and one back to school event in particular where many of the male members donated money to purchase backpacks and Nike sneakers for a well-deserving group of students. They also took a group of summer campers on a trip, but explained that the children couldn’t just attend, “they had to qualify and earn it,” with good grades in school, model behavior in camp, and even written reports.

They host annual teen summits with speakers “that they can relate to, age-wise, but it’s open discussion, whatever the issue is that they want to discuss, whether it is drugs, sex, bullying, you name it – whatever it is they want to discuss, we try to have a forum where they feel comfortable and can voice their views and maybe get questions answered,” Keels explained.

Williams mentioned a community garden they recently started where they grow vegetables. “It’s a learning process,” he explained. He also discussed upcoming events he has planned for the summer, one involving shadowing someone in their job to learn more about the field.

There are several events planned for Black History Month, “a month-long celebration of Black culture and history,” as described by their Black History Month flyer. The events include an Open Mic night on February 1st, a Family Fun Night on the 8th, a Women’s Brunch on the 10th, a Black Love Banquet (candlelit dinner for parents/adults) on the 15th, a Teen Summit on the 16th, and they are also sponsoring the first annual Black History Month Parade on February 23rd. The parade event will be the “grand finale of the month, with an entire day of food, fun, and family,” according to the flyer.

Keels stated, “We want to get in the community, project this positive image, and get people involved. We invite anybody to come out and see what Closing the Gap is about.”

They meet at their location on Watson Boulevard in Warner Robins on the first Tuesday of each month at 6:15 p.m. If you are interested in becoming a member or volunteer, or would like more information, you can visit their website at: www://closingthegapmidga.com/. They also have a monthly magazine now available that is about to go digital as well, called The Link.