“I just want to thank Providence Road. We are very thankful for people coming to bad neighborhoods to help. The love they show these guys in the group is heartwarming to people in this community.”
CREATING SPACE FOR PURPOSE, PRACTICE,
COURAGE, AND UNDERSTANDING
PROVIDENCE ROAD SUMMER RECAP '23
THE JOURNEY
Confidence is contagious. It helps when others have it, and then seeing it, we start to think “I can do that”. Even though we stumble, this feeling of confidence and purpose leads us into the adventure of our lives and reveals the truth about who we are and what we are capable of.
This is why childhood heroes play such a big role in our ability to pursue our future. Without seeing someone aim for something and achieve it, we tend to forget that we ourselves need to aim. We become “aimless”.
With your support and encouragement, Providence Road has been showing up in the community since 2018, providing space for youth (3 afternoons a week) to step into purpose, practice, courage, and understanding.
After 5 years we have so much to celebrate!
THE WORK
Our ability to aim at a goal (and achieve it) is directly proportional to the access we have to real heroes (people who are actively striving for something in their lives). For many of the youths that come to Providence Road, the pool of inspiration is quite small.
The Providence Road staff and volunteers may not be heroes at a glance, but they are some of the few adults who regularly invite our youth into a greater purpose by providing opportunities to practice the (often overlooked) subtleties of serving others, getting along, being safe in our struggles, and embracing a culture of strong rather than tough.
We are so grateful to our staff and volunteers who showed up strong for our youth this summer!
A tremendous effort!
THE YOUTH
This summer, we sent one of our senior members (CJ) to spend three weeks working on a camp service crew in Oregon. On his first solo trip out of state, CJ crushed the opportunity and came back expressing confidence and a new determination.
Service ‘wakes’ CJ up, and to share this journey with him is a win, not just for CJ, but for the community and other Providence Road members. CJ is modeling what Providence Road looks like outside Baton Rouge and stepping up to lead the culture of our youth.
We celebrate CJ with you!
MORE WINS
In 2021, the culture of Providence Road embraced a spirit of unity, and our group embarked on an academic journey. Each youth member felt safe enough to admit their lack of understanding when it came to reading and writing. The most striking revelation of the past summer was the remarkable surge in confidence. Through dedicated practice, our members started acknowledging their own aptitude to grasp concepts and communicate eloquently in writing.
This summer, we have been privileged to witness the sparks of ‘desire’ flicker as these young men take steps toward being interested in understanding what difficult passages mean in the reading of these famous books such as The Narrative of Fredrick Douglas, Treasure Island, and Robinson Crusoe.
“This doesn’t make sense!” Kyree’s exclamation captures the struggle many youths in North Baton Rouge face when they want to understand, but few have the space or are comfortable enough to make such a statement. There were many such moments this summer where the youth of Providence Road decided to pursue understanding, and were willing to stay in such a struggle and find out that it is worth it.
THE SPARK
The spark of curiosity; “what does this mean”, is the same spark that unlocks the potential and capacity of the human spirit and awakens a desire to step into the unknown.
For Providence Road Youth, this spark is an essential invitation to live out their true potential; more often than not, it is an invitation they have never received before.
It’s hard to learn without that spark and even harder without the confidence to face the unfamiliar….
But when the spark is lit, change begins to take place, at home, at school, and in the community. Below we share some prose from Kyree, (age 13) written during our Wednesday book club.
Enjoy!
“Worthy of happening, working towards success.
Way over the horizon working to be the best.
Steppin with affirmation and mastering it along the way.
Gaining wisdom that would help me in a tremendous way.
Creating healthy boundaries that won’t leave my side.
Bringing happiness into my life no more darkness ever seen.
Dreams don’t happen unless you do.
Being confident that my life would be great
leaving all the dark thoughts behind.
Slowly being fueled up by what God wants Kyree to see,
life will be peaceful as long as you walk with me.
Face challenges and work with me.
and be in the biggest picture the world has ever seen.””
THE SUMMER-Y
When youth like CJ and Kyree find someone who identifies their potential, takes the time to create opportunities for exploration, and provides a safe space to practice understanding, the entire community benefits.
With Over 75 youth impacted, 200 vacant lots cleaned up, 150 trips to the gym, a bunch of trail mix, water bottles, McDonald’s, more struggles with youth than you can imagine, thousands of words of affirmation, and many celebrations we are most thankful to be concluding our 5th year of Providence Road.
Your support for Providence Road makes these seemingly small choices, amount to “big steps” for our youth. The fateful decisions of going to bed early, not skipping class, staying focused, avoiding the clowns, and saving money, when put together, it’s huge.
This effort started with a desire to seek an understanding of the needs facing our North Baton Rouge Community. Today, we get to see these youth taking active steps toward their future and the future of Baton Rouge.
We celebrate the courage and success of Kyree and CJ, and all the other youth in Providence Road who stepped into a bigger story this summer with you!
Your Support Matters!
If you want to join the struggle, reach out to us at providenceroad.jtf@gmail.com
OR
join us as a monthly contributor!
To find out more about how your support is changing the trajectory of youth lives, reach out to us at providenceroad.jtf@gmail.com or contact our Program Director (Cole Erno) at 206-920-0826.
