when being present is all you can offer

BY Cornelius "CJ" Jackson

Something in her eyes betrayed the frown on her face. Yes, the young eight year-old girl who had just exited the Common Ground Montgomery van was snarling — appearing to be angry and defiant. But sadness in her eyes told a different story. As she made her way to the gymnasium where other energetic kids were running around and playing, it was apparent that she was in no mood for fun. My first thought — she got in trouble on the van ride to the CGM campus. Or maybe some kids were picking at her and she was upset.

“What’s wrong, baby girl?” I asked.

“Nothing!!!”

The sharp reply did not originate from the pouting lips in front of me. Instead, an older girl had closed the distance between me and the young girl, running up from behind her and draping her arm around her shoulders; comforting her, protecting her. They were sisters.

Again, I inquired, “What’s going on?”

The small child’s mouth moved, but the words were inaudible. I stooped down in front of her—my face mere inches from hers. I could see her eyes tearing up quickly; big tears streaming down her round cheeks, splattering the front of her uniform shirt. She repeated her sentence, and I made out what she’d previously exclaimed: “I want my daddy!”

Oh... I see.

This is common, familiar; children have bad days and want to call home. They don’t want to be anywhere but in the arms of their mom or on the laps of their dad.

“Maybe we can call your dad. Will that make you feel better?”

More tears - big sadness in her eyes - more tears.

“Our daddy is dead,” said the older sister, the protector.

And then I remembered. It was a few months back, he was murdered in Gibbs Village.

Man — I feel so stupid.

“Come here!” I call out. And I take them both into my arms and try to comfort them — my mind racing, thinking, imagining how a little girl must attempt to process such big pain. How could I focus on a test if death was my distraction? What would my public mood be like if melancholy was my personal acquaintance?

“I got you, baby girl… I got you!”  

2 Corinthians 1:3-4   Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

I do thank God for the privilege and the opportunity that CGM gives me to just be present, to be available — even if that is all I can offer.

meet miss tori

BY AVA CONLEY

I am a firm believer that we at CGM have the best volunteers in the world.  We could not function at Common Ground Montgomery without the faithfulness of our volunteers. They serve whole-heartedly on a weekly to daily basis. I am constantly blown away by how God is using our volunteers in our program, our community and our city! I would love to take a moment to highlight another one of the amazing people that the Lord has brought to us!

Tori is one of our staff members and serves in the office at CGM, BUT she faithfully serves in our after school program and leads a bible study for 1st and 2nd grade girls. She may get a pay check, but she goes above and beyond to serve and I am so grateful to her! I definitely consider her one of our most faithful volunteers! I wanted to take a moment and have her answer a few questions about her experiences at CGM.

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Q: How long have you been volunteering with CGM?
I have been working with Common Ground for nine months now, since January.

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Q: Why do you love coming to CGM?
I love coming to CGM because I am surrounded by supportive people that encourage me in my walk with Christ and as I strive to share my faith with the students I engage with. I learn something new (and usually unexpected) from them every day and I love it!

Q: What is your favorite area to volunteer in?
My favorite area to volunteer with is the academic part of the after school program and also Bible study. Last week I worked with some of the third grade girls on their spelling homework. We made this monotonous task into a competitive game to help the girls learn their words. It was so rewarding to listen to them brag about their spelling test scores the next day. It's important to get the students excited about education in order to truly develop an appreciation of it so that they can share it with others. Kids view their knowledge as something they can take pride in as it is solely their possession. We can teach and preach all we want, but if they are not involved and engaged they will not retain the valuable information and lessons we strive to instill.

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I taught my first Bible study last Wednesday and it was an exciting new experience for me. I didn't want the girls to be forced to sit and listen to me talk because that is not very effective with younger students so I made the lesson discussion-based and allowed them to talk in small groups. Many of the girls were eager to pray and share their thoughts which I found very encouraging. I can't wait to see what God has in store for me and my class over the next few months!

Q: Who is your favorite staff person?
Jamal Doaty: I have had the great experience of watching Doaty grow into an incredible staff member. Over the summer he went above and beyond to make the summer camp a success! Now, in the After School Program he has developed a strong relationship with the middle school boys and is working to start a boys basketball team. His words of encouragement have continually helped me grow and I know God has incredible plans with this man.

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Q: How has volunteering at CGM impacted you?
Volunteering at CGM has greatly impacted my life. I don't mean that in a cliché way whatsoever. I have grown closer to God by simply being around such encouraging followers of Christ. I think that I have matured as a Christian because I used to view my relationship with God as something personal and private, but working with such amazing role models has shown me how freeing and beneficial it is to share this incredible aspect of my life with others in a more open manner. This is a work environment like no other! My coworkers have become family. I am grateful to be able to seek advice and encouragement from them without fear of judgment. Being in the military, this is not something I am accustomed to at all and it has completely warmed my heart. In addition to growing as a Christian, I have learned so much from the teachers here at CGM! As a future educator, I am always making mental notes on how I can manage my classroom and engage my students in the future. I want to develop the kind of relationship that Chaquana and Doaty have with their students with my own. They have great control of their classes and are genuinely respected by their students. I can't wait to use everything I have learned from them in my own classroom!

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Thank you for all you do, Miss Tori! I know I can speak for all the staff and kids at CGM - We love you!

If you would like more information about becoming a volunteer, please contact Ava Conley by calling the office (334.593.5803) or using the volunteer contact form.

cgm mentoring program receives $100k grant

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The Central Alabama Community Foundation awarded Common Ground Montgomery's Mentoring Program $100,000 through their "Curb the violence in the River Region" Focus Grant.

The Mentor Program, under CGM associate director Kevin King, aims to pair students in our after school program with godly mentors that will be involved with the student from 4th grade through graduation.

These mentoring relationships are not meant to replace students' families, but rather, to partner with the families and support them through life-on-life activities and experiences.

For more information on CACF you can visit www.cacfinfo.org.

on "the children network"

BY KEN AUSTIN

This new school semester working at Common Ground Montgomery has been the best, by far. And not only in working at CGM, but in being around the new school, Valiant Cross. I have been teaching for years that King David, in Psalm 100, was telling us to find out what noises the Lord likes to hear and then to make them. I believe that we are on God's favorite station now: "The Children Network." 

I get to see the answer to many, many years of prayers now being fulfilled in the Washington Park Community. I get a chance every day to hear joyful noises out of the mouths of babes. I hear generational curses being broken through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 

I see young men unraveling potential they didn't know they had through math and science. I see books and reading becoming their friends and companions transporting them into places they only dreamed about, far beyond the destructive influences of their physical realities. I see Technology being used by them instead of using them. Instead of technology paralyzing them, I see it motivating and causing them to reach for new heights. 

I hear chains falling from the future of a new generation of men. I hear the sound of freedom coming, and it is a page turning in the after school tutoring program. I see fallow ground being broken up and walls being broken down by love, kindness and accountability. 

I get a chance to see hope in its infancy.  

I watch it being planted. 

I see every day what faith truly is. I see that faith is the ingredients or substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. I see young scholars with hope in their hearts for things they have never seen before, now with the ingredients they believe will make those things come to pass. I see boys wanting to become men, and I mean God fearing men that will raise their sons, protect their daughters, love their wives, and provide for their families. 
The noise I hear is not the old neighborhood train of drug dealers, high school dropouts, gangbangers and fatherless homes,  but it is the noise of men coming up who will take  lead and not follow the crowd but change their surroundings. 

I believe dreams come from the work you do. I can see after a hard day's work at Valiant Cross Academy that young boys' dreams are changing.  

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" is the new dream. 

I see a new brotherhood being formed that neither heights nor depths, pride nor selfish gain will break. 

"Who's got your back? I got your back I got your back, Bro!" 

I hear a new sound: "Excuses! No, we don't make those."  

"Work: anything worth having is worth working for."

Valiant Cross Academy is a place where young men will Rise Above!

put me in coach!

BY JAMAL DOATY

“Team work makes the dream work” (John C. Maxwell).

My name is Jamal Doaty and I'm from the great state of Georgia, also known as Bulldog country, and I will be working with the middle school boys in the After School Program. Also you will hear a lot of parents call me the "The New Coach Justin" - what an honor! - or "Doaty". I have really big shoes to fill following Justin Hampton's departure to Harvard University for graduate school. I can say that before his departure he really prepared me to understand the program tools and to build relationships with the kids. I knew his transition was going to be tough for a lot of the kids, especially as I remind them daily I'm not Coach Justin, but I will do my best to prepare them for this tough thing we call life.

I started with CGM as a teacher working with 3rd - 5th grade last September. It was a blast to work with the younger kids. At the beginning of the new year I interned with CGM, helping all the way through the summer working with the team of college interns that ran the Summer Camp.  With the new school year I officially took over Coach Justin's position in the After School Program.

I have around 40 boys in program, and we are now partnered with the new private school, Valiant Cross. Brothers Fred and Anthony Brock are the two men who started the process of the new school. They are really great supporters who often let me know we are trying to run a program of excellence.

One of the first things on my agenda is to bring back the CGM basketball team; I think that with this area it will really give the boys a chance to participate in an organized team setting. "The greater the loyalty of a group toward the group, the greater is the motivation among the members to achieve the goals of the group, and the greater the probability that the group will achieve its goals" (Rensis Likert). We have a lot of goals to achieve in the After School Program, some of our main focuses are activities that emphasis leadership, goal-setting, community, personal accountability, tolerance, honesty, and courage.

The middle school boys program will help with one-on-one tutoring to help increase reading levels. We will tutor every day except Friday as Fridays are reserved for trips or games or other activities.

I'm very excited and blessed to be a part of such a great team, and to have this opportunity of pouring into the youth. Whoever thought stepping out in faith and truly trusting in the Lord to guide your steps you would be doing something that is honoring to the Lord AND having the best time of your life!

Please keep us in your prayers as we continue to serve your kids.