When he was a young boy in the 1980s, Terence Berry loved playing basketball for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Long Beach.

He played on the travel team, which played at different Boys & Girls Clubs from Wilmington to Garden Grove.

“I had the greatest time and the most fun playing back then,” Berry said last week. “I still have friends I made from that time so many years ago.”

Now, almost four decades later, Berry is an area director for the same Boys & Girls Clubs of Long Beach — and he is giving back on some of the same courts he played on as a club kid.

“I’ve gone full circle with the Boys & Girls Clubs,” he said. “This is a blessing that I am able to give back to kids like adults did for me when I was a kid.”

Berry also knows the importance of having good sports balls to play with, no matter what the sport is.

That’s why he is a big supporter of the annual Let’s Play Ball drive, sponsored by the Press-Telegram and Daily Breeze in partnership with the Boys & Girls Clubs of both Long Beach and the L.A. Harbor. In the campaign, which launched on Nov. 17, the Press-Telegram and Daily Breeze are asking readers to donate new sports balls and money for the two organizations’ sports, fitness and recreation programs.

Traditionally, the Press-Telegram and Daily Breeze campaigns — in which their respective weekly sister publications, the Grunion Gazette and The Beach Reporter, also participate — have been separate, with the former helping the Long Beach clubs and the latter helping the L.A. Harbor clubs.

But this year, we’re effectively combining the two campaigns into one. Like past years, however, balls donated in the Long Beach area will go to the clubs in that city, and those donated in the South Bay will go to the Boys & Girls Clubs of L.A. Harbor.

The goal is to provide at least 5,000 balls combined — or at least 2,500 to each organization.

The deadline is Dec. 13.

Berry was born at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center in 1977 and spent his first five years living near 17th Street and Chestnut Avenue, just a short distance from the Wallace/Petrolane Center, where the gymnasium was recently dedicated in honor of restaurateur Phil Trani. Berry’s family moved to the west side and then to North Long Beach. He was active in the Boys & Girls Clubs in those areas. He attended Muir Elementary, Stephens Middle and Poly High before attending Long Beach City College and Cal State Dominguez Hills.

Berry has worked in a variety of positions, in addition to his service at the Boys & Girls Clubs.

He has worked in the music industry as a songwriter and producer, and helping kids.

He and his wife, an educator, have also started a nonprofit grassroots organization, I Shine Youth, in Wilmington, which teaches music, dance, arts, leadership and character development to youths.

In 2020, their group of dancers and drummers were finalists in the “America’s Got Talent” competition.

In 2021, Berry returned to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Long Beach — where it all began for him.

“I love what I’m doing here,” he said. “I don’t consider it work. It is happiness. We’re not just in the community of Long Beach. We are of the community of Long Beach.”

Don Rodriguez, CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Long Beach, called Berry “an amazing and inspirational person. It is so great to have someone who grew up in our program and now wants to give back. He knows how to connect with kids because he has been through it all himself.”

The sports programs at the clubs, Berry said, change the lives of youths.

“Our sports programs enhance the lives of these young people,” he said. “The kids learn teamwork, leadership, confidence and being part of a community. That builds lifetime friendships.

“We are planting seeds for tomorrow,” Berry added. “It is so joyful helping these kids grow. Someone planted seeds in me and now I’m giving back.”

He said he wanted to thank readers in advance for helping to make a difference in the lives of youngsters.

The Let’s Play Ball campaign benefits both the Boys & Girls Clubs of Long Beach and the Boys & Girls Clubs of the L.A. Harbor. Here’s where you can donate.

Long Beach area:

• The Boys & Girls Clubs of Long Beach’s main office, 3635 Long Beach Blvd., from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday.

• Big 5 Sporting Goods stores, 4780 Pacific Coast Highway in Long Beach and 5247 Lakewood Blvd. in Lakewood, during store hours. Big 5 will once again provide 25% off any regularly priced sports balls folks buy to donate to the Play Ball campaign.

• Phil Trani’s Restaurant, 3490 Long Beach Blvd., from 12-11 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

• First Bank locations, 4040 Atlantic Ave. in Long Beach and 5195 Lakewood Blvd. in Lakewood.

• The Boathouse on the Bay Restaurant, 190 Marine Drive in Long Beach.

• The Watch Me! Sports Bar, 6527 E. Pacific Coast Highway in Long Beach.

You can also donate money or purchase balls or other items off the Long Beach clubs’ Amazon wish list. To do so, click on bgclub.org/Joy. For more information, email Kari Cho, vice president of marketing and development for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Long Beach, at karic@bgclublb.org, or call 562-595-5945.

South Bay:

• Big 5 Sporting Goods stores, 529 S. Gaffey St. in San Pedro, 2745 Pacific Coast Highway and 17542 Hawthorne Blvd. in Torrance and 2515 E. El Segundo Blvd. in El Segundo, during store hours. Big 5 will once again provide 25% off any regularly priced sports balls folks buy to donate to the Play Ball campaign.

• Boys & Girls Clubs of L.A. Harbor locations, 1200 S. Cabrillo Ave. in San Pedro (send Amazon orders to this address), 529 S. Gaffey St. in San Pedro, 100 W. Fifth St. in the Port of L.A., 1444 W. Q St. in Wilmington, 1220 W. 256th St. in Harbor City and 802 W. Gardena Blvd. in Harbor Gateway/Gardena.

• First Bank locations, 21503 Hawthorne Blvd. in Torrance and 1542 W. Redondo Beach Blvd. in Gardena.

One final note: We’re always looking for more drop-off locations — whether they be a sports bar, a restaurant or even a retail store.

To become a drop-off location, email me at rarchbold@scng.com and coastal cities editor Chris Haire at chaire@scng.com.