“The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you” B.B. King
If I were given the chance to improve my community, I would try to build a safe haven for youth from violence, gangs, and etc. With the recent outbreak of violence, I feel that my community especially would benefit by having a recreation center that would have activities, gym equipment, and studio equipment that would occupy the time of youth and put their energy to good use. The rec. center could also offer education opportunities as well, such as tutors, online courses, GED classes, job placement, college/university enrollment, and much much more. Youth don’t only need help in their social life but we need help with our education endeavors as well. If this could come true, I would be the first to donate ALL of my spare time to the cause, because WE ARE STILL THE FUTURE!!! If you really think about this, the youth of Chicago, have no place to congregate, legally. Most clubs are 21 and over and most parks close at 9pm. If we put 2 and 2 together, we wind up with young people dying, for NO reason. I believe that if we had a center similar to this one with reasonable accommodations such as snacks, reasonable hours, and a low cover charge the youth death rate would drop. I’m not a stingy person, so if this was to be successful on the south side of Chicago, I would want it to expand all over the state of Illinois, to the other 49 states, and eventually worldwide, with each center named after someone or some organization that is willing to help youth.
On the same note, I would love to expand my idea into other avenues, such as a place for the elderly to go and mingle with others. I have a firsthand outlook on what an elderly person that doesn’t get out much goes thru, my grandmother. She doesn’t get like to go out places where she doesn’t know the crowd, but if there were an accessible center for her to visit, with