Carver students, supporters celebrate 10 years

David Robinson couldn't have selected a better namesake for the Carver Academy.

It was George Washington Carver who was able to look beyond the simplicity of the peanut and find more than 300 uses for it.

“That's why we're named after George Washington Carver,” he told a crowd that had gathered at the academy to celebrate its 10th anniversary.

“Because I think he so perfectly personifies what we want to teach these children. We want to teach them that, yes, the hard work, the effort, the intensity, the passion, the integrity, the discipline will get you a long way.”

Or, as he later put it: Teach everyone to be able to take anything and make something out of it.

That's what Robinson and his supporters say has occurred with the academy itself.

A decade ago, ground was broken in a decaying neighborhood on the East Side, fulfilling the former San Antonio Spurs center's goal of establishing a faith-based school for inner-city youth in kindergarten through sixth grade.

He and his wife, Valerie, announced in 1997 they wanted to donate $5 million, which was believed to be the largest single donation anywhere by an NBA player, to build the school as part of the expansion of the Carver Community Cultural Center.

Even after a decade of guiding it, the couple remain equally committed to the academy's success, giving beyond their initial donation.

“We're very excited about what we're doing here,” he said. “What you see here and what you've seen so far in the first 10 years is just a glimpse of what God wants us to do here.”