(uplifting, hopeful music)
>> Martin Luther King, Jr once said,
>> We can not walk alone.
>> And as we walk, we
must make the pledge,
>> That we shall march ahead.
>> We can cannot turn back.
Havin' the opportunity to be raised
by my father and my
mother as well as havin'
a lotta cultures in my
life through sports,
I wanted to pay it
forward, by givin' others
the same opportunity.
The need to be a Big, to be a mentor,
to be a positive role model, is somethin'
that I think, is a great call.
>> I, just by chance,
ran into a person who
had started a project called Popscope,
and it stands for pop-up telescope,
just that feeling of community,
that public astronomy brought
was really inspiring to me,
and so I just kept doing it.
I think it's probably
the most rewarding work
that I've done so far, just being able to,
connect with people
and give them resources
that they wouldn't
normally have access to.
>> I have a literacy program here called
the Readership to Leadership,
where we encourage children to
embrace reading at a very early age.
By the third grade
children should be reading
and if they're not, it
increases their chance
or their likelihood of incarceration,
teenage pregnancy, the dropout rate
increases also, so it's
really very important
to engage children in those earlier years.
>> We are a church plus recovery ministry,
for the neighborhood!
I was taught at a early age, if you bring
a complaint, you bring a concern,
also bring a way to fix the problem.
Be a contributor.
I like to help people
to better their lives,
to better their circumstance, to make them
feel good about themself
and once we feel good
about ourselves, we'll feel good about
helpin' somebody else.
>> I'm in the Men in Scrubs program,
which is a program over at Baltimore City
Community College, and that's to get more
young African American
men in the medical field.
Donatin' your time is more important
than donatin' money, to me.
I think it's more valuable.
So I believe that
everybody could give back,
or just one hour a week,
you could change somebody's life.
>> I sponsor a food
drive for the department
of ob/gyn and we donate foods to the
Maryland Food Bank.
The statistics for homelessness
are very staggerin' and
it just, when I read
the statistics it just hurts my feelings
to know that people just aren't able to,
do somethin' as simple
as have food to eat.
>> I had an opportunity to be a part
of a teachers' drive,
we donated over a thousand items.
I think that when you have people that
surround you and support
you and encourage you,
that is the most important thing.
We are just thankful to be able to,
to support them so that they can have
everything that they
need to be successful.
>> Today is our Adopt
a Class program visit
and we come once a month,
we try to make it fun and engaging,
and educational.
Just to see the kids'
reaction and engagement,
and excitement about, you know,
something different.
>> Martin Luther King, Jr. once said,
>> Everybody can be great,
>> Because anybody can serve.
>> You don't have to have a college degree
to serve,
>> You don't have to make your subject
in forever agree to serve.
>> You only need a heart full of grace,
>> A soul generated by love.
