Veronica "Tonni" Bailey has often told the story of how she came up with the idea to create Meet Me at the Court.
Nearly 10 years ago, Bailey was invited to speak to the El Dorado City Council about a new youth program she had founded to provide area children with a safe, comfortable environment in which they could voice their opinions, share their concerns and discuss whatever topics they wish.
Bailey told council members that many children deal with problems, such as low self-esteem, bullying, troubled home lives and more, and some do not have an outlet to vent and express their feelings or reach out for help.
At the time, Meet Me at the Court was two weeks old, having held its first session July 13, 2013.
The group gathered weekly on the Lester Street basketball court between Columbia and Ouachita avenues in the St. Louis neighborhood, where Bailey grew up.
Many of the topics that were discussed each week are ongoing and relevant today.
For instance, a then-pre-teen girl and member of MMC tearfully explained to city officials that she was sometimes afraid to sit on her porch or play on the basketball court because of the potential for violence in the neighborhood.
Bailey and other adult and youth members of MMC provided encouragement, advice and support to those who shared their testimonies.
The sessions were not always so emotionally heavy, however.
The group also enjoyed fellowship, food, games and other fun activities.
Bailey and company also made sure to help impart wisdom and life skills and lessons, particularly the importance of giving back to the community.
Mentoring youth is what Bailey had been tasked to do in what she described as a divine encounter with her late sister, Sharion Bailey Whitlock.
Whitlock passed away in early 2012 following an illness. She was 51.
Not long afterward, Bailey said her sister appeared to her in a dream and urged her to "see about the kids."
The dream laid the groundwork for MMC, with Bailey noting that a vision of the St. Louis neighborhood basketball court materialized in her thoughts as she pondered the meaning of her sister's extramundane message.
Bailey would later explain that working with youth was one of the many ways in which Whitlock served the community.
"In the dream, she told me to take care of the children. She had a passion for helping children and she gave me an assignment to carry that on," Bailey recalled.
The passion to serve is a common thread that binds the Bailey family and spreads across generations.
A family thing
Bailey said helping others is a virtue that she and her nine siblings came by honestly.
Their parents, the late Robert Sr. and Margie Bailey, set a strong example of community service throughout her childhood and adulthood by showing, rather than telling.
Upon hearing the news of someone's passing in the St. Louis neighborhood, Margie would walk door to door to collect monetary donations to purchase a flower spray for the funeral, along with other acts of kindness she would perform to help comfort and assist grieving families.
"I would be right there with her. She would take me with her," Veronica recalled, saying that neighbors rallied together and gave what they could when she and her mother came knocking.
MMC and The Bailey Family continue to offer that kind of community support, Veronica said, adding that the groups work out such arrangements with the designated funeral homes.
Margie and Whitlock were also both known for selflessly opening their homes to friends, family and neighbors who sought food, shelter and any other of life's essentials.
Thanksgiving was Whitlock's favorite holiday, Veronica noted.
"She would cook a big soul food meal at her home and not only would she feed her family, she would feed others," she said.
To carry on that tradition, MMC and The Bailey Family team up each year to host the Sharion Bailey Whitlock Soul Food Community Dinner: Good Food for the Body and Soul.
Not only is traditional holiday fare on the menu, but the group also serves up plenty of recognition for educators, veterans and first responders.
Veronica has explained that Whitlock was a stickler for education and helping children achieve academic success.
The family also pays homage to first responders, with whom they became familiar during Whitlock's illness, Veronica said.
Because the event falls near Veterans Day, veterans, including those within the Bailey family, are also honored for their sacrifices.
Robert Bailey Sr., who passed away in 2017 at the age of 95, is remembered for his generosity, a strong work ethic and commitment to helping others.
"Daddy would get food and he would go on various streets in the St. Louis neighborhood in a station wagon with boxes of food and he would blow his horn and everyone would know that was Mr. Bailey coming with food," Veronica recalled with a laugh.
She noted that her father's Gran Torino station wagon was as much a resident of St. Louis as the people.
"He would pack boxes of food in that car and when people would see that station wagon, they would run out to get a box of food," she said.
During his memorial service, another local humanitarian, the late Orlando Reed Sr., shared fond memories of anticipating when Robert would make his rounds in the neighborhood.
"Orlando Reed got up and told it at the funeral, how many people daddy fed in the neighborhood and that he was one of the ones that daddy would feed," Veronica said.
Reed and a friend, Frank Mitchell, launched a Christmas Day community dinner 17 years ago in the Fellowship Hall of St. John Baptist Missionary Baptist Church.
The free dinner was eventually moved next door to The Fairview Community Development Association building.
Reed died in 2021 after suffering a heart attack. He was 61.
The holiday dinner and tradition he started continues to draw scores of people each year, having been taken over by his son, Orlando Jr.
Carrying on the legacy of giving
Likewise, Veronica and her siblings are continuing the legacy of giving that was established by their parents.
And the torch has been picked up by her son, James Curley.
"He started at a young age. Ever since he was a little boy when he was a junior deacon at First Baptist Church on Cordell (Avenue), he began his outreach, going out into the community to help others," Veronica said.
Community service was not something Curley was instructed to do, she said.
Rather, it was something that was naturally embedded in his genetic code.
Curley's father, John Hall, was also actively involved in the community until health issues began to slow him down.
Hall celebrated his 97th birthday March 17 and much of the community was aware of the commemoration.
Curley set up a birthday tribute and display, complete with signs, a throne and crown, on Hall's front lawn.
The decorations caught the attention of passers-by who sent plenty of well-wishes throughout the day.
Hall, a World War II veteran, has volunteered with local youth programs, taken children fishing and taught Sunday school, Veronica Bailey said.
As many children are wont to do, Curley mimicked behaviors he observed from the adults who were around him.
"James would let me know what he wanted to do and what areas he wanted to go to," Veronica said.
"And he would pick items, like grape juice, and take them to nursing homes. He would love to take Welch's grape juice for them," she continued, chuckling.
St. Louis icon and community pillar, the late Pete Sims Jr., took notice.
The founder of Sims Mortuary, Inc., was so impressed with the altruism he witnessed from young Curley that he made his own contributions.
"He offered to assist with gas when I would be taking James around," Veronica said with a laugh. "Mr. Sims was so supportive of seeing youth doing something where they were helping others. He was just so supportive of that."
MMC has grown far beyond those weekly meetings on the basketball court and evolved into an organization whose sole purpose is community service, covering El Dorado, Union County and other parts of South Arkansas.
The group hosts a number of free events each year, including the community-wide Thanksgiving dinner, an Angel Tree program, a school supply giveaway and monthly, youth mission projects in which MMC youth members have delivered and served food to area residents, donated to local food pantries, provided lap covers and other items to the homeless and more.
Much of the growth of MMC can be attributed to Curley, his mother said.
Over the years, Curley has come up with ideas and suggestions to enhance MMC's community activities and better serve area residents, such as delivering gifts by mail for the angel tree project when COVID-19 prevented the group from hosting its annual holiday gathering, Christmas on the Court, and making face-to-face deliveries.
Soft-spoken, Curley shies away from any attention surrounding his community service work, preferring to go about it quietly -- so quietly, in fact, that he politely declined an interview for this story.
His mother did the talking.
"That's all he knows is giving back. He continues to do it. He's been there with me from day one," Veronica said. "He continues to be a part of jumping in with both feet. He and his wife (Aleah), they have been a wonderful support system for me."
Margie and Robert Bailey's legacy of giving appears to be in good hands and paying it forward is just as rewarding for the giver as it is for the recipient, Veronica said.
"As far back as I can remember, my family has had giving spirits in our hearts and it just came on down to me and my son. It's a great thing to give and to be a blessing to others. It's just a joy," she enthused.
Robert Bailey, Sr.
John C. Hall Sr., of El Dorado, celebrated his 97th birthday on March 17. His son, James Curley, set up the birthday tribute for him, decorating his yard with signs and a throne and presenting him with a crown. (Contributed)
Margie Bailey
Sharion Bailey Whitlock
James Curley, right, presents the Rev. Barry Dobson and Vicki Dobson with the first-ever Robert and Margie Bailey Humanitarian Award. The award was created by Meet Me at the Court and The Bailey Family in honor of Curley's grandparents. The Dobsons were recognized for their contributions to the community during the sixth annual Black History Youth and Person of the Year dinner in 2020. (News-Times file)
Veronica Bailey and Santa Claus (Jimmy Howard) stand with a few wrapped and ready-to-send gifts in December 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic forced the Bailey family to pivot from their usual in-person holiday gift-giving to the community to by-mail presents. (Matt Hutcheson/News-Times)
Veronica Bailey became emotional as her brother, Cleveland Bailey, right, spoke about her achievements and service to the community during the sixth annual Black History Youth and Person of the Year dinner in February 2020, when a proclamation from the City of El Dorado was read naming Feb. 8, 2020 as Veronica Bailey Day. (News-Times file)
Veronica Bailey is pictured during the sixth annual Black History Youth and Person of the Year dinner in February 2020. (News-Times file)