Academics is just part of the curriculum at South Sacramento youth support group

Certain sounds can transport us back to a simpler time – a bowling ball careening into pins, sneaker bottoms skidding on an indoor basketball court, an air hockey puck speeding down the table.

They can remind us of the moments in youth when the most important thing was looking good for the homecoming game.

But not everyone gets the opportunity to experience those moments as readily as others.

That’s where Always Knocking Inc. comes in. The south Sacramento nonprofit organization founded by Greg King offers a variety of services to ensure more kids can make those memories.

The focus of the program is academics, and it provides kids with mentors and a quiet place to complete homework assignments at its headquarters on Florin Road. Its request to Book of Dreams is for money to acquire equipment to assist with its homework help tasks.

But the group also sponsors monthly trips to bowling alleys, movie nights for the family and community pop-ups at the Boys and Girls Club on Lemon Hill Avenue (with food, a basketball court, air hockey tables, pool tables and more) to mix in some play with the work.

“We put a lot of focus on education, but learning comes in all forms,” said Greg King Jr. , the son of the group’s founder, who has the title “Face of the Youth” for Always Knocking. “It comes from homework and study and finding new ways to learn.

“But we also take camping trips to learn how to work as a team and practice confidence building exercises. We teach basic skills like looking someone in the eye, or learning how to tie a tie, or how to build a résumé,” added King Jr., who also works as a rapper under the name “The Gatlin.”

His dad, the program founder, said Always Knocking gives students “a place full of familiar faces who are invested in reaching (their) goals with them ... and when some of these kids haven’t had that before, or haven’t felt that before, it makes a world of difference.”

While the organization focuses on the positive, its origins have roots in a dark time in Sacramento a decade ago when scores of local teens were losing their lives to violence.

Those deaths led King to form an organization to help at-risk youth access resources, life skills and educational structure they need to create a better future for themselves, he said.

While the issues involving at-risk youth may seem overwhelming, King Jr. said the organization has been making a daily contribution to the lives of hundreds.

The request

Needed: Money for school supplies for the program’s homework program. Needs include a new laptop and a projector.

Cost: $850

This story was originally published December 13, 2019 at 5:30 AM.