Community
Development

Upon opening my e-mail this morning, I was very excited to see the construction bids come in for the Darrent Williams Memorial Teen Center (thank you Will Bussard of OZ Architecture for your hand in this) and to know that as of January 9th, 2008, we will have our construction partner in place and the work will begin . . . . bring in the New Year.

As you all know from past blogs, this project means so much to all of us in the organization and to the Williams’ family and we certainly know it will have an amazingly positive impact on the young people who will be members of the Center.  Particulary in the week leading up to the anniversary of Darrent’s death, it is extremely important for us to have this positive outlet to focus on and to know that something truly positive will happen in our community from a place of tragedy.

Ed Dwight, the sculptor who is working on the bronze of Darrent to be displayed outside the Teen Center entrance, has started the first casting and some of our kids from the Broncos Boys and Girls Club have been over to his studio to learn about the process.  This is also very exciting.

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With the holidays upon us and the New Year just around the corner, more Broncos are helping those less fortunate celebrate the season.

John and Linda Lynch hosted the 11th Annual John Lynch Foundation Christmas Party for Boys and Girls Clubs of Metro Denver last night.  The party for 35 children included a surprise visit from Santa to deliver gifts courtesy of Wal-Mart, a holiday dinner and attendance at the musical White Christmas courtesy of the Denver Center for the Performing Arts.  The program originated in Tampa, Florida and each year participating Boys and Girls Clubs directors nominate children from each club to attend.  The children’s wish lists were secretly collected and then granted by the John Lynch Foundation and Wal-Mart.  The Lynch Foundation was established in 2000 and is committed to developing leaders by encouraging dreams, providing programs that assist and motivate and recognizing achievement and excellence.

In a similar holiday spirit, Daniel Graham hosted 30 children from Young Life and Denver Kids at the Target store in Glendale last night as well.  Graham and several teammates helped the kids spend a gift card provided by Target for their families and themselves on holiday gifts.   Kids also had the opportunity to have photos taken with each of the players attending.  What a fun way to spend the holidays!

Last Tuesday proved to be another special holiday moment as we had our annual holiday party with the Denver Rescue Mission Crossing facility.  We adopted every room currently occupied at the Crossing and approximately 40 families were treated to an old fashioned Christmas experience–gifts, dinner and cheer!!!

My favorite moment of the evening came when a young child about 3 yrs. old all dressed up in a Christmas sweater vest was so taken with the excitment that he literally began jumping up and down with joy–to see the holiday spirit through the eyes of a child is something every adult should make a point of doing each and every year.  That is where true inspiration is born.

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Last night at Dick’s Sporting Goods at Park Meadows, the Denver Broncos formally kicked off the holiday season.  Dick’s was very gracious to give $100 gift cards to each of 40 children from the Boys and Girls Clubs of Metro Denver and they enjoyed a festive dinner and shopping spree with Miles and four members of the team:  Steve Cargile, Domonique Foxworth, Chad Mustard and Brandon Stokley.

What really warmed my heart was the special spirit of the kids.  They were really neat, wonderful young people who were so very appreciative of the evening and the opportunity.  One young man, Brandon, from the Denver Broncos Boys and Girls Club is a Hurricane Katrina evacuee who fled to Houston and ultimately ended up in Denver.  He was so gracious and personable and I marvelled at the thought of what he has gone through and how he is persevering…

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