Corpus Christi Caller Times Caller.com - Donation saves youth program

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Tuesday, July 27, 1999

Donation saves youth program
$8,000 from anonymous source will keep gym open during fall
By Jennifer Stump
Caller-Times

An anonymous private foundation has saved a youth basketball program one week after it fell victim to the city's deep budget cuts.
   The City Council today likely will vote to accept an $8,000 donation - the same amount that was needed to keep the league alive - that will allow kids to shoot hoops at Ben Garza Gymnasium during the fall.
   Last week, the council approved a $345 million budget that didn't have money for the after-school basketball league.
   "We were definitely sweating it," said Rianard Jackson, one of the city staff members who organizes the program. "Words alone can't express our gratitude. It was a godsend. You want to reach right out and give someone a hug for doing something like this. Irregardless of how many bad things there are in the world, there's good people out there."
   About 200 neighborhood children participate in the free basketball program each year, Jackson said. They practice one day a week after school and have games on Saturdays.
   "It does give the children an alternative to just hanging in the streets and gives them something to look forward to on the weekend," Jackson said. "It puts a dent in drug activity. It gives them a little understanding of what rules and regulations are all about."
   City Councilman Arnold Gonzales said he was contacted about a week and a half ago by the foundation.
   "They really wanted to save the program at Ben Garza," he said. "That whole league there would have been closed."
   Members of the foundation, however, want to remain anonymous.
   "I'm just very grateful," Gonzales said. "Maybe one day I can tell who they are, but now I want to respect their wishes."
   In mid-July, some local corporations donated $40,000 to keep a similar program running at the Coles Special Emphasis School gym.
   Billy Delgado, the city's assistant athletic supervisor, said the Northbay Basketball League and the Ben Garza Basketball League stand apart from the citywide basketball programs in two ways: cost and access.
   "It's free to neighborhood kids," Delgado said. "There's a fee for the citywide program. That's played at middle schools all over town, so transportation becomes a pretty large obstacle for the kids. This gives them a chance to play no matter what."
   All neighborhood children between 7 and 13 are allowed into the program.
   "We're really excited about it because it gives us an opportunity to outreach directly into the community," Delgado said. "We would have been really disappointed to not have this program again."



Staff writer Jennifer Stump can be reached at 886-3778 or by e-mail at stumpj@caller.com

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