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2007 Report to Funders

Written by All Sports Community Service - Monday, 09 April 2007

So many of you have helped our students create their futures and have followed their progress over several years. Often you ask for an update about these students. Here’s what’s happening with just a few of our all-stars. Included are some recent newspaper articles about our students.

Adedayo Banwo, that tall, skinny kid who started out in public housing, taking city buses to All Sports events, is now a Duke Law School graduate with a Master’s from Cambridge University. Currently, he is completing a prestigious clerkship out of state. If Adedayo can accomplish all this in a few years, what can he accomplish over a lifetime?

Gilbert and Sergio Perez have brought joy and pride to their family over the years. Gilbert, a senior at the Air Force Academy, was elected captain of the football team and played in the Hula Bowl this year. His academic skills are on a par with his athletic skills. Brother Sergio, a student at University of Tampa and a renowned college pitcher, was drafted in the second round by the Houston Astros. These young men have already begun putting into place the Perez Brothers Scholarship, to be administered by All Sports.

From the first, Garrett Johnson was an outstanding student and a superior athlete. Having graduated from Florida State where he was the 2006 NCAA Shot Put Champion, Garrett is now a Rhodes Scholar pursuing a degree at Oxford and training for the Olympic team in shot put. An internship in the Governor’s Office made him aware of the problems related to poverty and displacement. After graduation, Garrett will return to Florida to work on migrant issues.

Alumnus Ricky Sailor grew up in a West Tampa single-father family where Santa wasn’t always a Christmas visitor. Ricky started the first All Sports Christmas Chip-In, intending to help one family down on their luck by providing toys for their children. Working with other All Sports alumni and staff and his former teammates and coaches, the Chip-In, now in its third year, provided not only toys but gift certificates and furniture for six families. And it all started with Ricky’s desire to give something back.

Kylie Moord continues teaching and inspiring children from homes that are often chaotic and indifferent to academic achievement. When Kylie saw that her students had no place to play and unwind, and that the schools had no money for playgrounds, she immediately launched a fund drive to raise money for a playground. The price tag of $18,000 did not faze Kylie. She expects it will take a while to raise the funds, but has no doubts that it will happen.

Many of you know Jonta Mention as the Spirit of Tampa in the video presented to the NFL to bring the 2009 Super Bowl to Tampa. But it is Jonta’s business degree that is helping him achieve his personal goals. After working in management for Walgreen Pharmacies, he has moved on to financial planning and training. Recently, Jonta bought his second house in a year. His dream of being a force in local real estate and of helping others become homeowners is taking form. How many houses will he own in 10 years?

Charles George was living in a homeless shelter when he became an All Sports student. His circumstances did not prevent him from being an outstanding participant at the J.C. Watts Leadership Camp in Washington, D.C. Charles took copious notes and brought home everything he learned. He immediately began applying it with the younger students he mentors at Metropolitan Ministries.

A graduate of King High School, Labrawn Saffold has returned there to mentor a group of students in his Quest program. Under his guidance, these same students tutor and mentor middle school students at Academy Prep. He has also inspired groups and individuals with stories of his life before and after the accident that put him in a wheelchair. Channel 13 will be airing a story about Labrawn in the coming weeks.

Jasmine Lane is in her fourth year of strengthening young women at Blake High School. Nine of the girls from that program are currently enrolled in college, and one attends college locally and volunteers with Jasmine. Each group serves the community at Joshua House, Metropolitan Ministries, Paint Your Heart Out, and other programs. Also as a group, they have attended many Bucs games (thanks to Joey Galloway and Ryan Nece), and will participate in college site visits this spring.

A 1999 Gaither High School graduate and 2005 Kentucky State University graduate, Tara Whelan returned to Tampa to teach at Middleton High School. Already she is working with a group of young women at Middleton, passing along to them the same things that she learned as an All Sports student. Her group will follow in the footsteps of their mentor, volunteering in various community service projects and learning that one can always help someone else who may have it harder.

As an organization, All Sports also has been working hard at raising funds to keep the program operational. The golf tournaments sponsored by Carrollwood Area Business Association and Carrollwood Community Bar Association have raised over $22,000 for scholarships. Another $20,000 in donations came from Boston Sports Bar’s grand opening proceeds.

Charitable foundations continue to partner with All Sports in helping deserving students achieve their educational dreams. In the previous section on students and alumni, some accomplishments are highlighted, but the majority of our students are quietly going about the business of completing college and beginning to build successful lives for themselves and their families. And they are taking advantage of opportunities undreamed of before college.

For example, one of our students, a freshman at the University of Southern California, is going to China with a school group next month. Before college, she had not traveled anywhere, had never flown, and was very apprehensive about attending a school so far from home. Today, she is filled with exuberance and excitement about college in general and her trip in particular. The charitable foundations are full partners in this girl’s transformation as in those of so many other students, including the 100 college students who receive scholarships administered by All Sports. We are grateful to the Banyan Foundation, Conn Foundation, Eckerd Foundation, NFL Charities, Publix Foundation, Triad Foundation, Professional Players Association, Falk Foundation, as well as to all the individuals, corporations, and civic groups who help our students become what they have the capacity to be.

At the heart of All Sports are its site-based programs, and they continue to grow at Blake, King, Jefferson and Middleton high schools. In addition, because of the large number of middle-schoolers in need of someone to take an interest in their lives, programs are in place at two magnet schools, Academy Prep and Carl Sagan Academy. There, All Sports students and alumni run after-school tutoring programs where sixth, seventh and eighth graders are encouraged to begin thinking about the possibility of college.

Research has shown clearly that having one caring adult, not necessarily a parent or a teacher, makes a huge difference in an adolescent’s life choices. We see proof of this daily. For example, one young man in the tutoring program was on the verge of failing. He has now turned his behavior around and is on the Dean’s List. The only factor in his life that changed was the presence of Labrawn three afternooons a week, urging him to strive and convincing him that someone cared about his future.