Allen Brooks is an absolute dynamo and has continually chosen to shine his light on the Scholarship Fund of Alexandria. As SFA Director Jasmine Milone says, “Allen is always thinking of ways to help the SFA!” Mr. Brooks credits the Larry Trice PTSA/SCA Scholarship that he was awarded by the SFA in 2000 with changing the trajectory of his life. He says simply, “I would not have gone to college if not for the SFA scholarship. Finances were a very real challenge for me.”
While still a student at Christopher Newport University, Allen volunteered as an emcee for the SFA Telethons and had fun doing so for years. In a recent conversation Allen said, “I saw it as a responsibility of mine to give back to the Fund. I reasoned, I don’t have money to give, but I have time, so I’ll be of service.” Allen has since created two scholarships for the SFA, one for students going into disaster recovery fields called the Athena Community Impact Scholarship, and one for first generation college students in honor of his late mother, Victoria Brooks.
As a kid Allen dreamed of becoming an actor, and his pursuit of acting began at T.C. Williams High School as a self-described theater and band kid. He finished his B.A. in Theater Arts in 2004 but found it difficult to find work as an actor. Allen’s professional life story then became one of fascinating and varied jobs. He first found work as a high school theater teacher. After completing a 3D animation certificate with the goal of getting into video game design, Mr. Brooks was hired by the Kennedy Center in Digital Education. He made online content for teachers to bring traditional arts into the classroom and used video games as an educational platform. Said Allen, “I know how important games are to kids and how much they can learn about math, maps, literature, and cooperation, simply by playing. I was helping people contextualize that in the classroom.” From the Kennedy Center Allen pivoted to working for an Alexandria company, Building Momentum, where his title was Chief Storytelling Officer, or as he describes it, “the community outreach guy. “
At the beginning of the pandemic Allen saw a need to connect people saying, “People needed to be near each other even if we couldn’t exactly be together”, so Allen and others from the community founded the Alexandria Drive-In Theater to benefit local nonprofits. In nine months, they raised $500,000 for local charities, and the SFA was one of the beneficiaries of this extremely generous effort.
Mr. Brooks’ latest venture is the creation of the Continues Arcade Bar and Restaurant. Allen noticed that many major metro areas have an arcade where people can come together to play games, eat, drink, and socialize, but nothing like this exists in the Washington D.C. area. Enter Allen with his energy, vision, creativity, and desire to connect people with one another. Continues Arcade is set to open in Alexandria this spring.
In addition to opening a business Mr. Brooks is a married father of two, a runner who completed his first marathon last year, and an avid food distribution volunteer with his church. He also sits on several boards such as the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce, the National Chamber of Commerce Small Business Council, the Christopher Newport University Educational Foundation, and the arts nonprofit Heard. In 2020 Mr. Brooks was honored by the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce with a 40 under 40 Award for making a positive difference in Alexandria.
Allen Brooks is civic-minded, gregarious, generous, and enthusiastic. The SFA is lucky to be the beneficiary of much of Allen’s energy. In 2000 Linwood Wooldridge, III wrote of Allen in a letter of recommendation, “Allen Brooks is a remarkable person. He has an excellent sense of humor and is able to motivate peers and adults to work together on projects. Mr. Brooks encourages all of us to enjoy life and do our best.”
Allen continues to care about the SFA’s mission, and he makes donations to the gala auction, including this year’s arcade games, and just last year emceed the gala program. Mr. Brooks has certainly done his best for the Scholarship Fund, and for that we are ever grateful.
