B.J. FLETCHER: Boys and Girls Clubs provide guidance to youth

Dear friends,

A while back, I had the honor of being invited to attend the Steak-N-Burger dinner, a wonderful evening put on by the Boys and Girls Club if Albany. I listened to a young lady that gave her testimony of what the club has meant to her and how it had transformed her life. I was touched and even motivated to send a few dollars to the Boys and Girls Club.

Now, in the wake of the turmoil going on in Baltimore, my mind goes back to that young lady and her words that told a story of renewal, hope and transformation. I witnessed, as much of the country has, a mother in Baltimore pulling her son from the grips of the riots and making him go home. With a mother like that and help from people who care, people like you, that young man will be OK.

Here in our community and many others, the Boys and Girls Club is the only mother, the only father that some kids have. It may be the only hope that jerks them from the path of disaster and helps put them on the right track.

I am reaching out to you in honor of that mother in Baltimore and so many mothers that need an extra person to help them.

We all have something to give. We can all help in some way. Time and money; that’s what’s needed. If you can, in honor of Mother’s Day, please send a check to the Boys and Girls Club of Albany. If you have no monetary means of helping, please bend your knee to Almighty God and pray for the mothers of America and the Boys and Girls Clubs of America.

We, as a city and as a nation, need to protect the future and I can think of no better way than to protect those who are our future.

Happy Mother’s Day to all of the mothers who work hard and pray harder for their children.

Mail checks to: Boys and Girls Club of Albany Inc., 711 N. Monroe St., Albany, Ga. 31701.

B.J. FLETCHER

Albany

EDITOR’S NOTE: B.J. Fletcher represents Ward III on the Albany City Commission.