On the Field, Off the Streets

"I used to be part of the problem," Coach Lo explains on a sunny afternoon at San Pablo Park in Berkeley, "And now I am dedicated to being part of the solution." 

For seven years, coach Lo and his partner Lynn have run Jr. Jackets Football and Cheerleading for Berkeley and East Bay youth as a labor of love for young people and our community. Through five teams and with a dozen fellow volunteer coaches, Lo & Lynne serve 150 Berkeley and East Bay young people every season, from April through November. 

As Coach Lo explains, football and cheerleading are just the vehicle through which to offer culturally-attuned mentoring, leadership development, and an avenue for positive youth engagement. The young people served by this program are among our community's highest risk youth--low income African American youth whose families are increasingly marginalized in our changing community.  

Young Black lives are increasingly at risk in Berkeley and the East Bay. Research has shown that engaging young people in culturally attuned positive activities and relationships is the key to protecting and uplifting youth. Such programs are also a significant way to ensure peace for the wider community, because these young people are targeted by sex traffickers and gang members who zero in on young people who are not positively engaged.  Keeping these young people On the Field and Off the Streets, now and for the years to come, is the true aim of Jr. Jackets.

For these 7 years, Coach Lo and Lynn Marie have funded their programs largely out of their own pockets. As the program expands, the yearly budget reaches close to $20,000 to run (for football equipment, field rentals, buses, awards dinners, uniforms, etc--no adults get paid to make this run!).Many of the families in this program cannot afford even the modest fees for uniforms and registration, and yet they rely on this program as a safe and positive environment for nurturing their young lives.

We are working to find avenues through which the City and County can support this needed program for our community's underserved youth, but in the meantime, we are asking for support from the wider community. 
 
This Go Fund Me campaign is an avenue through which you can support these local heroes, and the young people and families in their care. 

Will you help us ensure that Coach Lo & Lynn can continue to offering this amazing resource to the benefit of our whole community?

Thank you for your support!

~ Rev Angela