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These Kids Are My Heroes
Two Friday nights a month, we have a recreation night for the teenagers in the community. Our vision for this program is to raise up young people to become champions in life. We are now calling the teen program CHAMPIONS. We have several teenagers who are getting older and we don't want to lose them, so we have them volunteer with us, doing things like set up and tear down. I want to share with you some inspiring stories about some of our older boys who help out;
Marcus- A week ago, he had a conversation with two of our volunteers about what he wants to do with his life when he graduates from high school. He wants to go into the medical field to be a nurse. One of our volunteers is a nurse, so she spoke with him and encouraged him about nursing school. She asked him what drew him to want to be a nurse, he said, "Because I want to help people." We plan to encourage him and surround him with support to see him follow through with his dream.
Earnest- This young man for as long as I can remember has been very inconsistent with coming to the recreation night and outings we have. When we invite him, he would say yes, but he rarely showed up. In the past year, he has done a complete turnaround. Now, he shows up every time, he stays afterwards to help and jumps into everything we're doing. Last week, he didn't come to Champions and we wondered where he was. We don't allow the kids to come past 7:30pm and he showed up at 8:15pm in somewhat of a frazzle. He said, "I know I'm late but can I please come? I came all the way here from Belleville." How could I say no to that? Even though he was late, he was showing his desire and dedication to come. It's been such an honor for us to be able to watch him grow!
Derrick- He got wrapped up with the wrong crowd and was put in jail for about a year. A few months ago, he got out but was on probation with a strict curfew. His curfew didn't allow him to come to Champions. I talked with his probation officer to see if he would make an exception, but he wasn't ready to let him come since he was freshly out of jail. Last week, Derrick showed up at Champions because his probation curfew is later now. My heart leapt! He also has a job at Busch Stadium. His time in jail has made him want to do better with his life and he will be graduating from high school in 2012. We are so proud of him!
 
 
These boys and all of the our teens who come to Champions face the craziest odds every day of their life. They live in one of the most dangerous cities in America. Many of them live in John DeShields, a neighborhood which has the highest homicide rate in East St. Louis. They go to a high school that's known for its tough hallways, lack of teacher support and gang violence. But still, even in the midst of all of this, they rise above it. They amaze me and they are my HEROES.
LOVING East St. Louis,
Rachel :)
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