Sox score at Dimock

While respected in many corners, Dimock Community Health Center in Roxbury is better known among its clients than among the city's elite, as longtime chief executive officer Jackie Jenkins-Scott will be the first to tell you.

That explains why she and her staff were so taken aback about a month ago by the visit of Boston Red Sox owner John Henry. He toured the facility, asking questions about the services it provides. Henry saw everything from the afterschool program to the detox center, and stayed for nearly three hours.

"It was amazing," Jenkins-Scott said. "As you know, CEOs don't spend much time at Dimock, which to me says a lot about him and his commitment."

Henry had become curious about Dimock after his advisers told him the venerable institution would be a good place with which to form a relationship. Like many before him, he discovered that its name is something of a misnomer. "Before I went, I had the impression that this was a health center," he said on Friday. "But going out there, seeing the depth and breadth of what they try to accomplish, was eye-opening. It's so much more than a health center."

Henry and Sox president Larry Lucchino returned to Dimock on Thursday. They were delivering a check from the Red Sox Foundation for $50,000 for the Dimock's Teen Center. That day, the Sox were playing a doubleheader at Fenway Park against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays; the owners ended up missing part of both games.

"It was a tripleheader for us," quipped Lucchino on Friday.

The donation came at a good time for the afterschool program at Dimock. Historically, Dimock has been funded primarily by state money for antidrug and antismoking programs. But that had largely dried up the past two years, Jenkins-Scott said. She said Dimock officials had decided to keep the teen center going anyway at a loss, resulting in a deficit of roughly $50,000. The grant essentially erases that.

The program serves 50 to 60 kids a day, who get help with school work, recreation, snacks, and take part in various programs.

"Many of them see this as their home after school -- a place where they can feel safe and respected," said Jenkins-Scott, who is soon departing to become president of Wheelock College. "That's what the Red Sox saved."

As Lucchino and Henry freely acknowledge, contributing to a nonprofit in Roxbury is rife with symbolism for an organization that has never been known for racial sensitivity, one regarded by many as one of the pillars of the city's old-boy network.

"The history of the Red Sox is not what you'd like to see regarding issues of color, issues of diversity," said Henry. "So we're trying to make a statement -- more than make a statement -- trying to be good citizens.

"From the beginning, I've said we want to win as much off the field as we do on the field," Henry continued. "We have such a great platform to shine a light on certain things in our community. Dimock is certainly a light in our community, and anything we can do to point that out is a positive thing."

As for what might lie ahead, Lucchino cautioned, "We have to walk before we run." But all parties said they hope there is more to come.

The Red Sox are already more popular at Dimock than they were a week ago. Lucchino and Henry passed out caps, and arranged for some of the kids at Dimock to take in that night's game. Though the kids had been hoping to see players, they quickly warmed up to the owners, who wound up staying later than planned, giving autographs to their newest fans. "I thought those guys were rock stars," Jenkins-Scott said. "Our kids were wearing caps and asking for autographs. These middle-aged white-guys, heroes in Roxbury. It was nice to see."

Adrian Walker is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at walker@globe.com.