Melvin Short Sr. might be the first person to say he is surprised to have founded and led multiple youth and senior singing groups over the years.

But people familiar with Mr. Short, his work as an instructor for Richmond Parks and Recreation, and his ongoing community service consider him a living legend.

“I do whatever the community needs or I try to provide it for them,” Mr. Short said.

Mr. Short, 69, grew up in Whitcomb Court in the 1960s as one of seven children. He began working at the age of 11 as a paperboy, and other roles followed until he found his calling in the 1970s at age 18 with Richmond Parks and Recreation. A 1975 graduate of Huguenot High School, he became a volunteer coach for youth basketball and baseball. He also hosted youth talent shows as a volunteer.

Gwendolyn Harris, 60, met Mr. Short in the early 2010s through the Ladies and Gents of Creighton, a senior singing group. Mr. Short’s inspiration to create his own singing group was drawn from a group of Mosby Court dancers and singers led by Adolf Powell. Mr. Short made shirts for the group.

Mr. Short first created a youth singing group in the1990s that performed Motown songs and wore dazzling costumes. Although he does not consider himself musically inclined, music became part of his family when his uncle, Willy Joe Short, became Ike Turner’s bodyguard several decades ago. Mr. Short’s brother, Michael Short, also was a singer in the Richmond R&B group Klymaxx.

Ms. Harris describes Mr. Short as a “pillar” in Creighton who had a “great impact” on her and others. While he might have worked his singers hard, he also worked hard to “make sure everything was on point” for the singers, she said.

As a part of the group, Ms. Harris recalled performing in talent shows and selling food to raise money for group activities and trips. They also hosted Christmas parties and children’s events.

Mr. Short always took the initiative to create a “safe haven” for young kids and was a father to everyone, Ms. Harris said. He helped to redirect Black children from “prison to prosperity” and “make them better,” she said.

Kindu Shabazz, 54, also spoke of Mr. Short’s work with children and his artistic abilities.

Mr. Shabazz is a co-founder of the Richmond Kwanzaa Kollective. He met Mr. Short around 2006 when someone suggested he use the Powhatan Hill Community Center for Kwanzaa events. At the time, Mr. Short was one of two staff members who ran the center.

When Mr. Shabazz needed youth singers and dancers for his events, Mr. Short suggested the youth with whom he worked. Mr. Short, who Mr. Shabazz considers a historian, made sure to transfer history, culture and heritage from one generation to the next, Mr. Shabazz said.

After the Kwanzaa events were moved to the Trinity Life Center from the Powhatan Hill Community Center after almost a decade, Mr. Short still was considered an honorary member of the Richmond Kwanzaa Kollective, contributing “huge” and “elaborate” event decorations of human figures, Mr. Shabazz said.

Mr. Short’s love for art came from his two brothers and their artistic abilities. In the sixth-grade, he would pass his brothers’ art off as his own to girls at school. Now, after studying for himself, Mr. Short’s art is displayed throughout Richmond’s Parks and Recreation centers.

“He’s a community elder that deserves the respect and being seen as not just an elder, but an ‘esteemed elder’,” Mr. Shabazz said. “He’s always teaching me as he’s teaching others and he shows that, just because you are of a certain age, doesn’t mean this is your time to sit back in a recliner and do nothing.”

Like father, like daughter

Melody Short, 44, is one of Mr. Short’s three children with his wife, JoAnn Short, 67. Melody Short is a small business consultant and co-founder of the Richmond Night Market, which serves as a “hub for creatives” to sell their pieces and grow as entrepreneurs. She attributes her desire to help artists to seeing her father’s art and work with artists.

When reflecting on her community work, Ms. Short understood that this is not a love that can be taught and “you have to love the people that you serve,” or else, it is just a job, she said. Her father has been able to be a big part of the community for over 30 years because he comes from community, Ms. Short said.

“Most of what I learned about community building is from watching my dad serve the families in Richmond,” she said. “His North Star has been to lead with love.”

As a child, it was hard for Ms. Short to understand the “power” behind why her father was the “Community Dad,” but now she thinks his impact on children, some of whom did not have father figures, is “beautiful.”

“What I’ve learned from my father and my mom, who was a schoolteacher, (is) when you have something that you’ve been gifted with … those are not for you to hold,” Ms. Short said. “They’re not for you. They’re for everybody, right?”

Senior sounds

Although Mr. Short has worked in several parks and recreation centers in Richmond, including Pine Camp, Blackwell, Bellemeade and T.B. Smith, he brings the community with him.

Now at Hickory Hill Community Center, Mr. Short leads weekly singing rehearsals on Monday afternoons at the center for seniors in hopes of performing for the annual Senior Day in the Park at Forest Hill Park this summer.

The official date for this year’s Senior Day at Forest Hill Park has not been announced, but it usually takes place in June.

The last time Mr. Short participated in a similar event was in 2010 at the Dogwood Dell Amphitheater.

Juanita Davis, 85, joined Mr. Short’s first rehearsal in early March. A year ago, on March 4, Ms. Davis, a longtime member of Star Fellowship Baptist Church, had a stroke that affected her voice and created a lisp. Working with Mr. Short has helped her regain her confidence to sing again, she said.

Mr. Short chooses songs that the seniors can remember from the 1960s and 1970s. He accommodates his senior singers in situations such as Ms. Davis’ with songs that feature fewer words and slower tempos for light choreography. He encourages the singers, and if they cannot perform the songs, he offers alternatives.

“If you can’t sing that song, you can be one of my backup dancers,” Mr. Short said.

Turnout to rehearsals has been low, but Mr. Short’s goal is to get more people in. He anticipates a group of eight that will perform at Senior Day in the Park, including members from the Hickory Hill Community Center and throughout Richmond.

After this summer’s concert, Mr. Short hopes to have his singers perform at senior living facilities in Richmond and collaborate with recreation centers for other senior-related sessions involving music and dance.

“I just want to get some of [the seniors] on the stage and bring back their youth,” he said. For more information and to participate in rehearsals, please contact Hickory Hill Community Center at 804-646-7934.