FOUNDERS MESSAGE FOR THIS WEEK It the past few weeks, we have learned about several young African-American male teens who have been killed; either, accidentally or intentionally. One of whom actually visited one of Impact's' Horse Park practices. His mother contacted our organization because in her words, "I have heard that you have coaches, fathers, and young men on your team that may be able to help my son." While taking in her statement, I realized that we do have that type of organization.
It suddenly dawned on me, that I had recently requested of Anthony Hill (Team VP), Coach Chris, Coach Sam, Coach Ed, Coach Korey, Mr. Sloane (Jill and Jacie's father), Larry Scott, and Mr. Coleman (any positive male role model at my immediate disposal) to speak to some of our male student-athletes regarding issues that I felt needed to be immediately addressed.
This mother said she needed, "immediate" help with her son. She also stated, "he is a good athlete, but has just gotten involved with the wrong people; do you think you guys can help him? My answer was, "can you or someone get him to a practice and let me speak with him?" She had someone bring him to the practice. I spoke with him in detail, and discovered a young man that wanted somewhere to be, something to do, somebody to listen. I then said to him, "IMPACT is not for every athlete; especially not selfish athletes, so if you decide you want to come back, you are welcome. But you will be, act, and conduct yourself as a responsible and willing "student-athlete," and you will start tutoring sessions with Mr. Heidt on Monday." I put my hands on his face, looked in his eyes, and asked,"you do understand that we must immediately address your grades or you can not be a part of this team; don't you"? At that moment, and for the first time during that conversation, he looked at me like the child that he was and said, "yes ma'am."
He never made it to another IMPACT practice. He was buried by his mother one week to the day of our conversation. As I have been personally, physically, and mentally preparing for our 2009 summer season, one of my personal preparations is to practice saying "no," while simultaneously reamining true to our vision of developing student-athletes. I am told I don't know how to say "no." However, with this situation, I have come to realize that every student-athlete, no matter their socio-economic level, family background, or current environment, deserves our immediate attention and our immediate support.
This is simply God's vision for this team. You can't place Him in a box, and learning to say"no" to children in need of direction and support is not where the word "no" is appropriate. Suddenly, the word immediate has a different meaning to me. There is an immediate need for us to take hold of the African-American, Hispanic, and White male child. Particularly, the African-American male child because they are more often and more consistently treated as adult men when judicial punishment is administered.
Let's choose to reach outside of our comfortable suburban homes, comfort zones, and neighborhoods. Lets not be afraid to offer immediate help. IMPACT family, we are not politicians, so we have nothing to fear, we don't have to "walk on eggshells" to help our youth. As adults of this world, we have become so self-centered that we forget most of our children truly believe life is supposed to be innately fair to them. Unfortunately, present society will not allow the children of today to experience the "childhoods" of yesterday, as we so fondly enjoyed. Our vision has to be immediate and consistent. Thank you IMPACT parents for your consistent support of our youth!
It has become more and more apparent to me that our organization has unintentionally established a program with a magnitude of IMPACT! Our vision has permeated through and through to our student-athletes, yet we still have so much more to learn as an organization, as parents. Our kids love this program and each other, let's continue to push forward. Rest in peace MB~
Spice Up Your Knees
Can herbs and spices be good medicine for your joints? Possibly. One new contender for soothing creaky knees is ginger. When people with stiff, sore, osteoarthritic knees took a ginger extract for 6 weeks, they felt significantly better than their placebo-dosed pals who got fake ginger.
Anti-Inflammatory Action
Long used in Eastern medicine to treat musculoskeletal problems, ginger contains a complex mix of compounds that researchers suspect helps thwart inflammation in several ways.. And in the study, side effects (stomach upset) were mild.
Ginger Goodness
Along with its inflammation-cooling properties, ginger may have anticancer powers, too. And the ginger ale your grandma dispensed when your stomach was upset? There’s science behind that as well. Ginger is a well-known nausea reliever.
Great Recipes
In addition to being a delicious dipping sauce for dumplings, this can be used as a marinade for chicken, fish or tofu. Makes 3/4 cup
ACTIVE TIME: 10 minutes
TOTAL TIME: 40 minutes
EASE OF PREPARATION:
Easy1/2 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon minced ginger
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
Combine soy sauce, lemon juice, vinegar, garlic, cilantro, ginger and sesame oil in a small bowl. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to allow flavors to blend..Spinach, watercress and Belgian endive are good matches for this zesty dressing.
Happy Belated Birthday Salley Moseley!
You are the best . You were my very first client, one of my best friends and we’ve been together for over 16 years. Love you Honey Bunny. January 29!
IMPACT SHOUT OUTS
Jacie Sloane was recognized and awarded a certificate for maintaining "All A's in the First Semester" at an Austin Road Elementary School Honor Roll Breakfast held on Tuesday, January 27, 2009. That's Awesome Jacie!
Jillian Sloane was recognized and awarded a certificate for maintaining "All A's in the First Semester" and she was also recognized and awarded a certificate for being on the "Principal's Honor Roll" at an Honor Roll Awards Assembly held at Austin Road Middle School on Friday, January 30, 2009. That's what's up Jillian!
If you have any shout outs that you want to see in the blog, please email Kisha at kisha.cameron@gmail.com
The Fatherlessness & Mentorlessness Statistics
Sixty-three percent of youth that commit suicide are from fatherless homes
Ninety percent of all homeless and runaway children are from fatherless homes
Eighty-five percent of all children who exhibit behavioral disorders come from fatherless homes
Eighty percent of rapists are proven to have been motivated by behaviors stemming from fatherless homes
Seventy-one percent of all high-school drop-outs come from fatherless and mentorless homes
Seventy-five percent of all adolescent patients in chemical abuse centers come from fatherless
Seventy-one percent of all juveniles (male and female) in state-operated institutions come from fatherless homes
Eighty-five percent of of all youths (males and female) sitting in prisons grew up in fatherless homes
Eighty-two percent of all teenage girls who become pregnant come from either fatherless or mentorless, or homes where the father is present, but the mother visibly makes over ninety percent of the household decisions
"IMPACTORS WE ARE DOING TRACK & FIELD DIFFERENTLY! LET'S TAKE HEED TO THESE STATISTICS. REMEMBER ... WE ARE MENTORS TO NOT ONLY OUR OWN, BUT ALL CHILDREN. LET'S HELP CHANGE THESE STATISTICS AND SAVE OUR CHILDREN."
