Throughout the years Sequim residents Robert and Ruth Worley have made contributions to a variety of causes, such as the Peninsula Home Fund, local school districts, Goodwill and KSQM, but most recently the couple turned their generosity toward the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Olympic Peninsula.

Unlike many donations the club receives, the Worleys’ donation was “unique,” Sara Maloney, Boys & Girls Clubs resource developer, said. The $5,000 was made for a specific use and thus earmarked “to provide essential services to under-privileged children,” she said.

The donation will help provide youth that otherwise couldn’t afford things like a haircut, school sweatshirt, shoes, undergarments or bus pass, Maloney said.

“We’re in a position now that we can do things like this,” Robert Worley said. “I was the oddball in school and I don’t want other children to feel the way I did.”

Having grown up in Kansas during the Depression, Robert Worley explained he knows all too well what living without is like. While his peers wore jeans to school, he wore his only option – bib overalls.

“Growing up, I didn’t know how to relate to the other children,” he said. “And, I didn’t have anything like the Boys & Girls Club.”

Every new year Robert Worley was given a new pair of overalls and shoes. The annual outfit would have to sustain him through the school year and then serve as his work clothes.

Although Robert Worley came from little financially, he is quick to acknowledge he has led a “wonderful” life along with his wife of more than 50 years.

Robert Worley, long retired from his career with the federal government and 22 years with the Air Force, and Ruth, a retired nurse, feel “fortunate” to be able to contribute toward the Boys & Girls Club and hope to “prevent children from feeling like they’re different or don’t belong,” Ruth Worley said.

To encourage those able to give to do so, in the future the Worleys said they may consider doing something like a donation challenge where they would match another donor’s contribution.

Boys & Girls Clubs of the Olympic Peninsula, Carroll C. Kendall Unit

Mission: “Enable all young people especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens.”

Where: 400 W. Fir St.

Phone: 683-8095

On the web: www.bgc-op.org

Reach Alana Linderoth at alinderoth@sequimgazette.com.