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SCA’s Community Programs at Work
Growing up in the Petworth section of the District of Columbia, I was 10 years old before I saw my first real park. I didn’t realize at the time that it would be my salvation from the drugs and violence that were ravaging my community. It would have been preposterous then to think that within 16 years I would be running youth programs in parks throughout the metropolitan area — and offering the same extraordinary opportunities that I had to countless others.
The defining moment for me came in the form of a neighbor who regularly walked her dog and who one day asked if I and several friends wanted to walk with her to Rock Creek Park. We knew her well, because of her dog, and, while it was not a short walk, we readily accepted. When she saw how much we enjoyed the park, she began researching programs that would enable us to spend time there...Continue Reading here.
The author is DC Area Youth Programs Manager for the Student Conservation Association.