Plains Boys and Girls Club special place close to the Carter’s home and heart

Today, we pause to honor the remarkable life and legacy of President Jimmy Carter, whose unwavering commitment to peace, human rights, and service to others has left an indelible mark on the world. As the 39th President of the United States, President Carter served with integrity and compassion. Beyond the Oval Office, President Carter's contributions grew even more profound. He demonstrated what it truly means to live a life of service, working tirelessly through the Carter Center to promote global health, democracy, and human rights.

PLAINS, Ga. — Jimmy Carter has always come home to Plains. After leaving the Navy in 1953, he returned to Plains, the tiny Georgia town where he was raised, and where he eventually started the political career that would lead him to the presidency. Years later, he found in Plains a haven where he could reinvent himself after a stinging defeat that ousted him from the White House. And more recently, it was a place to heal, as he weathered severe health setbacks. Now, Mr. Carter, 98, has come back to Plains once again, drawn by the comforts of home and the embrace of a community that he has cherished and relied upon through every chapter of his life, including what now appears to be his last.

PLAINS, Ga. (WALB) - People are traveling into Plains from near and far with one person on their minds — former president Jimmy Carter. They come with prayers and reflections on his contributions to society, one being his work with the youth through the Boys and Girls Club. That impact has touched many people so much so that the club in Plains was named after him and his wife, Rosalynn Carter. From supporting the national office of the Boys and Girls Club in Atlanta to building their own club with their own hands in their hometown of Plains in 1999, the Carters have been helping the youth for over 30 years in more ways than one. “There’s no way that you can put a dollar amount on his contributions to not only this club, this community but the world,” said Marvin Laster, the former CEO of the Boys and Girls Club in Albany. In 2019, The Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Unit was renovated and the Carters became honorary co-chairs of the board of directors for the Boys and Girls Club of Albany. The nonprofit has 10 units including the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Unit and serves over 1,000 children in Dougherty, Sumter and Macon counties. It’s because of various funds the Carters donated to the Plains Boys and Girls Club that kids who come through the club don’t have to worry about a membership fee. “His legacy is one that will live in perpetuity and that’s what he wanted, especially with this club. It wasn’t about this building having his name on it. What it was about was kids will always have a place to go, grow and thrive in his hometown and they won’t have to pay a single penny,” Laster said. Tim Wofford, the current CEO of the Boys and Girls, said the Carters’ support through the Boys and Girls Club of Albany will last support will last for many generations to come.  “That is going to be our ultimate goal is to make sure we don’t let this community down, we don’t let him down or the first lady so the work has just begun,” Wofford said.