Fridays with Mac: Reincarnate

Your scribe suspects to not be alone when moments occur in life that have you thinking, “I gotta learn more about - fill in the blank.”

Had one of those moments recently while sitting on a Change The Trend Zoom call. A Stronger Cord 's work with displaced men gravitated us to CTT long ago. In trying to address the growing issue of homelessness in the south Denver metro area, city of Englewood police and a ministry council came together to try to play a role in lessening the impact of too many displaced folks on the streets.

A Stronger Cord jumped on board early and loves the spirt of a group of organizations from government, non profit (ASC), faith-based and business working collaboratively to combat a real societal issue of modern-day life in America: too many folks on the streets.

Anyway, a few weeks back on the weekly CTT call, a dude named Jose Cardenas was talking about the East Community Center. What’s that? It’s a creative solution to another growing problem in our land: Declining birth rates are leading to less kiddos entering school districts across America. Littleton, Colorado is not immune to the reality.

East Elementary school was shut down two years ago. What to do with a wonderful community asset now sitting empty? Littleton Public Schools decided, wisely, to transform the building into a community resource center housing all kinds of non profits serving a community with changing demographics with different needs.

As Director Cardenas gave the tour, I was blown away at the ingenuity present when the decision makers on the school board made the gut-wrenching decision to close the school. That’s a challenging situation for school boards and superintendents. Nobody likes to see their neighborhood school go dark.

So much swirls around our schools, especially at the elementary school level. Young and impressionable minds are nurtured there, close to home and convenient for parents. Cardenas spoke the truth. “It makes things more difficult for the children and parents because of transportation and proximity. A piece of the neighborhood is gone.”

However, thanks to bold and logical thinking from the folks making these decisions, who says a Phoenix can’t rise from the ashes of angst and disappointment? A place to gather remains a place to gather with many beneficial resources children and families can access easily.

These days this 66-year-old dude with a new lease on life thanks to an angel in my midst who shared her spare and gave me a new lease on life? I’m walking around with Cardenas, an LA native with a long background in social services, and offering the services of A Stronger Cord with, “If you ever need volunteers on Saturday for anything let me know.”

It was a real joy to share that the Irv Brown Endowment Fund at Metropolitan State University of Denver works closely with another agency, Write on Sports - Denver . It provides middle-schoolers assistance to sharpen communication and literacy skills through writing about sports. Cardenas said, “We have a decent amount of older elementary school kids who participate in various programs here. Write on Sports might be a good fit for them.” We’re working on it.

Then what "Drive for Five" 's all about entered the conversation. As the demographics of the neighborhood have changed, a lot of immigrant families have moved nearby joining elderly citizens who have lived in their homes for decades. Lots of diversity and people of color.

One of DFF’s main mission is to engage with communities of color and educate them about the dangers of kidney disease. High blood pressure, diabetes and excessive weight are kidney killers. These health issues disproportionately effect communities of color. I offered to Cardenas, “Drive for Five and AdventHealth Colorado would love to present to the community. We’ll talk about wellness, life and, since I’m an old sports guy, sports. Most folks like to talk about sports. It’s a real connector.

Littleton’s not the only school district struggling to figure out how to lessen the impact of closing elementary schools. It’s currently a huge flashpoint for the Denver Public Schools and others around the country.

Closing schools. Unfortunate. Reincarnate them as another body serving the community in healthy and productive fashion. A blessing!