Everyday I see my kids grow, as well as their friends grow, and I think to myself, what will these kids become when they grow up? Will they become fire fighters, policeman, be in the military, teachers, it really doesn't matter as long as they believe in themselves!
But, what makes these kids believe in themselves? I have coached baseball and softball for the past 5 years now and have worked with kids through Junior Achievement and the Big Brothers / Big Sisters program, and most recently connected up with the Cinderella Program.
I've seen many kids come through these programs without a smile on their face and they don't believe in themselves. Was is it something another child told them? Was it a comment from a parent having a bad day or a teacher that told them they were no good? (I had that happen to me in 3rd grade and it changed me.)
I want these kids to be leaders no matter what profession they choose to do in life. I want them to succeed, they are our future. Most of the kids I work with coaching come from great families, but for some reason they just don't believe in themselves. My goal in those 6 short weeks is to get them to smile and show them they are special and they can succeed in anything they want to do.
Unfortunately with programs like Big Brothers / Big Sisters and the Cinderella program these kids aren't so lucky and usually come from a background of a single parent household which had an abusive parent and now they are looking for a role model. These kids are a little more difficult because the only thing they know of adults is they can't be trusted and a lot of the time you are spending time earning their trust before you can build their self confidence.
Today I ask you, if you see a child trying to do anything, don't discourage them. Nurture them and help them reach their goals and build their self confidence. There is nothing a child can't do in this world if they put their mind to it. But, they do need some help sometimes.
Some of our greatest leaders came from backgrounds that were less than desirable in most people's standards, but if you ask every one of them, there was that one person that encouraged them to do great things, and they did! Can you be that person in a child's life?
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