From gang member to Youth of the Year

Manuel Contreras loved to fight, to street brawl.

He was running with a gang from a tough neighborhood in south Redwood City. “Manny Lokz” was his nickname.

“I was one crazy dude,” said Contreras, 19, showing a compact, boxer’s build and close-shaven head.

He had been in and out of juvenile hall and kicked out of several schools when his probation officer gave him a deal: Do community service at the local Boys & Girls Club or spend more time in lockup.

Contreras took the deal and has found a different gang to run with — one that has inspired him to change his attitude and outlook on life.

Instead of searching for fights, he’s looking out for young children and helping them with homework and other needs at the club.

Since first walking into the club about three years ago, he has earned his diploma from an alternative high school, won scholarships and attended Cañada College.

His turnaround has brought him the club’s Youth of the Year award and a commendation from the San Mateo County Board of Education.

“I like to have fun in a good way, not the old way,” said Contreras, who works at the club as a social education assistant. “Here I can just be me. I have a big smile on my face. Here I can help.”

Read Full Story - Part of a new, helping crew

Related Links:

• Boys & Girls Club of America
• Boys & Girls Club Facebook
• The Readers Digest donates $1M to Boys & Girls Club of America
• Be Great! - watch the video (below)

Former NBA star Love delivers inspirational message

Perhaps it was his last name or his gentle demeanor, or maybe it was that he has met President-elect Barack Obama and Michael Jordan on numerous occasions, but when former NBA All-Star Bob Love finished his motivational speech to ninth graders Wednesday at Naples High, an auditorium filled with teenagers rushed forward to hug him.

The kids Love was addressing — about staying in school and choosing friends wisely — are growing up in a different reality than the former Chicago Bulls great, who was born in the Jim Crow South (Baston, La.) in 1942.

Two girls — one white, one black, one with dreadlocks, one with red ribbons in her hair — sat side by side, holding hands as Love told his story. Both had “OBAMA” written on their arms in marker.

“God bless America,” Love said again and again.

———————-

Because of his stutter, Love found life after basketball difficult. At one point, unable to find gainful employment because of his stutter, Love took a job as a busboy and dishwasher making $4.45 an hour.

“Those were some of the most embarrassing, most humiliating days of my life,” Love said. “It took me about a year and a half of speech therapy before I could speak a whole sentence. Still, every morning I get up and look in the mirror and practice what I learned. I never want to go back to where I came from.

“All those honors I received when I was playing, I would give back in a minute to be able to give these kids some words of inspiration.”

Love, who does nearly 200 speaking engagements a year, played against some of the game’s true legends.

Read Full Story - Love Inspires

Cynthia Derosier Surfs for Good Causes

Cynthia Derosier is the author of The Surfer Spirit Book and recently published The Survivor Spirit : The Beauty, Passion, and Power of Breast Cancer Survivors.

Cynthia is convinced surfing can help Hawaii’s at-risk youth.  In partnership with Girls Court and The Surfrider Foundation’s O’ahu Chapter, Derosier started The Spirit Sessions, a six-week program aimed to help at-risk teens redirect their lives in a positive way through surfing and other ocean-related activities.




Beth Kanter interviewed Cynthia on her blog.  Here is an excerpt.

What is the connection between surfing and healing?

There is a saying “only a surfer knows the feeling” and it’s true. It’s hard to describe, but I can tell you, anyone who has ever caught a wave, whether they surf throughout their life or only once, everyone remembers that first wave. I taught some Buddhist monks to surf and they told me that it is very much in the spirit of being a Buddhist because you must live in the moment.

Surfing keeps you in balance, physically, emotionally and spiritually. The physical part is obvious. The rest, becomes obvious the more you surf. It’s the only sport I can think of where you play with nature. not on it, not in it, but with it. You sit in the right spot then wait for a wave, then it does what it wants with you. And if you are skilled you know how to respond to it in a way that works for you. And no two waves are ever the same. And no surf spot is ever static.

I see a lot of self-esteem enhancement with the kids in our surf program (The Spirit Sessions). Most don’t think they can surf and we get them up and riding on their first lesson!  They get a great workout, learn a whole new sport and positive activity (vs some of their other less positive habits.   They also develop a whole new social circle. In addition they start to see the ocean and the environment differently and they start to ask us marine biology questions, which lead to general environmental education. For many of our kids its a chance to practice and reconnect to their Hawaiian culture. So there is also cultural healing as well.

The Hawaiians believe that the ocean itself is healing. He`e Nalu is the Hawaiian word for “surf” it literally means “to slide on churning water”…but “nalu” also refers to the amniotic fluid and He`e Nalu also implies being born. In many ways, surfing was regarded as a way to celebrate life and be cleansed.

You also created a surfing program for breast cancer survivors.  Can you tell me about that?

As part of Make A Difference Day, the kids from our Spirit Sessions Program helped us teach some of the women who were breast cancer survivors to how to surf. It was a rainy and cold day, but a few of the women came down anyway. They had a blast and I think at least two of them are going to keep surfing! In exchange They gave the girls some life advice about being positive and never giving up when faced with life challenges and most of all continuing to celebrate life and enjoy what good there is in the world, surfing being one of them!

Read the full interview