Raul Bascumbe is the kind of volunteer you dream about. He’s helping out at Oakland game days and poetry slams, refereeing, showing up on the weekends and at fundraising events, and playing in the SCORES Corporate Cup. Raul found his way to SCORES after moving from Atlanta to Oakland in 2018 to work as a program manager at Walmart Marketplace. We talked to Raul about his work with SCORES, the parallels between Atlanta and Oakland, and the influence of his parents.

How did you first get involved with SCORES?

I first got involved through the Corporate Cup tournament. I play pick-up in Walnut Creek and one of the players recruited me to play on his team. It was great timing as I’d wanted to get into soccer at the youth level for a while because I’d been very much a part of youth soccer growing up.

At the tournament, I started asking about volunteer opportunities. I had looked into what SCORES does and was intrigued. One of the SCORES staff introduced herself and we started talking about how I might help. After a background check, I was up and running. The first thing I did was help judge an Oakland poetry slam. I wanted to participate in the soccer aspect of SCORES, but I was also interested in the organization as a whole and thought this would be a good introduction to what the organization does off the field as well.

What did you think of that first poetry slam?

It blew my mind how great some of the poems were from these kids at such a young age. These kids were able to put down what they were feeling on paper and then recite their poems in front of a crowd at a big auditorium. That stuff is nerve-wracking for adults! Getting up there means facing your fear. But these students were impressive and all had different styles and delivery. As judges, we had to put down different scores for each poet-athlete, so you had to listen carefully to what they had to say. Their poems tapped into their emotions and feelings and their day-to-day lives.

I remember a few poems about resilience. The kids were able to put a voice to some of the tough things happening in their lives and the realities of their environment. But at the same time, they were so positive, always seeing the good sides of things. They wrote about how they love their parents, siblings, pets, and communities. I really appreciate that about children. They’re finding the positive and thinking about how they can change things for the better. It was such a cool experience and made me want to get even more involved with SCORES.

You went from judging a poetry slam to learning about several teams' service learning projects. What did you learn?

After that first poetry slam, I started coming to SCORES game days and saw teams present their service learning projects. What you see right away is that these kids care about their communities. They want to be positive forces and contributors. Some of the ideas I heard about were amazing. One group proposed adding children’s drawings to trash cans. Their idea was to dedicate themselves and decorate these cans. A great idea! When you see something like that, your attention is drawn, and you’re inspired to keep the area around the can clean too. I thought it was a unique and fresh way to make a positive impact.

You’ve got some pretty dynamic hometowns. Where do you see the parallels between Atlanta and Oakland?

I love Oakland, and I love Atlanta. I tell people that Oakland is kind of like the West Coast Atlanta - for a couple of reasons. One thing that sticks out is the number of people of color who live in both of these cities and the number of business owners who are people of color. Part of it goes back to the early days of these cities and the emphasis placed on giving out non-discriminatory loans. You see a lot of thriving businesses that historically have been managed and led by people of color. So that’s something that really drew me to Oakland after living in Atlanta.

Then there’s the culture. It’s unique. Everybody’s proud of where they’re from and they’re not bashful to tell you about it. I’m very proud of it, and I love it. In California, especially, there’s a feeling that if someone’s not bothering you, then let them be. That’s different from other places where there’s more pressure to conform. That’s one reason you see so many special types of people out here — they’ve been allowed to just be who they are. It makes for a very attractive environment. I love everything about this place, except for the cost of living.

Just like the SCORES poet-athletes, you’ve been very influenced by your parents. Tell us a bit about them.

My mom is Puerto Rican and my father is Panamanian. My parents met in New York and kept moving south. They relocated to Washington DC for their careers (my Dad was in the EPA and my mom was in the SBA), and that’s where my brother and I were born. By the time I was a year old, we’d moved to Atlanta. Now my parents are retired and living their best lives in Miami.

I like all kinds of music, including oldies and salsa music, which my parents always listened to when I was growing up. They have always loved to dance. They redid our basement in Atlanta and would throw dancing parties all the time! My dad had a drum set in the corner. There would be family, friends, and lots of people from the Hispanic community. It was salsa music all night – a great time! - and that’s how I learned to dance.

Now that they’re retired, they’re having so much fun. They go on salsa cruises and to bars and clubs in Miami to dance.

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