My First Blog Page.10-10-17

As a designated “hoops dad,” I found myself chauffeuring my teenage daughter and a few of her friends to games and practices. They became like my own and I would constantly be in their heads…talking basketball and the importance of making good grades, and the value of looking forward to going to college.

(It was amazing to watch my daughter who went from a dainty little girl to someone who idolized Charles Oakley and tried to imitate his rugged domination around the rim.  She played on a Truman High School team that went 16-2 in her senior year and even made the City playoffs, but was no match for the bigger and more talented teams around the city).

Only one of them- the big center (she was only 5-10) had any real potential to garner a scholarship at the next level, so I felt it was important to encourage them to be academically prepared to get into a school. It may have seemed my rants went right over their heads. In the end, a number of them did make the transition to the next level with the help of their parents and guidance counselors.

There was one girl who I would drop off after practice, who was a really decent player I thought, but seemed quite distant and not focused. But, I kept encouraging her, trying to draw her out but it didn’t seem to register. Little did I know (until my daughter shared her dilemma with me) how unstable things were for her at home. It seems she had been abandoned by her mother and was being cared for by her elderly grandmother, who had meager resources and little knowledge about helping her to carve out a career path for herself.

After graduation, my daughter went on to Hampton University and we lost contact with the young lady.  A few years later, after graduation, my daughter came home for the Christmas holidays and told me her old classmate had contacted her on FaceBook. She asked how I was doing and told her to “thank me.”

Curiously, I asked why she was thanking me. She revealed that she had attended college and was in dental school!

I couldn’t have felt more proud at that moment.

In fact, she was one of my own! I know now what it means to be a part of a village. My only regret was I didn’t have the resources back then to instill the help instill the confidence to that would have help someone else to make the transition even more seamless.

And… maybe I did.
This is the passion we all can share if we realize the value of trying to make a difference to those who may not have the support and resources to help them achieve their potential. 

Your contributions will help us to reach many more young students and athletes who may not have the academic and athletics notoriety but still have the ability to accomplish their goals in life. They deserve the chance and can use our help to prepare for the next level of competition.
Black colleges need our help too! In these times of limited resources and other challenges, we need to stand in support of our HBCUs!

In the spirit of giving, you can help solidify the future for others and help put them in the best position to succeed.