Boys & Girls Clubs Lead Arkansan Back to Where He Began
By: Jessica Dean, KARK 4 News
Updated: August 10, 2011
As a child, Jason Pedigo spent every spare moment at the West Memphis Boys Club.
"Just simply a place to go and play basketball and play sports and games after school to keep you off the streets and out of trouble," Pedigo explained of the club.
Now as an adult, Pedigo will tell you the Boys Club had the biggest positive impact on his life. He remembers it as a place where he immediately felt safe.
"You learn a lot of things about diversity, across different racial barriers and language barriers and socioeconomic backgrounds," Pedigo said.
He ultimately obtained a MBA and entered the world of business, only to have his heart lead him back to the place where he began. Pedigo wanted to guide Boys and Girls Club kids to post high school education and beyond. Now he's doing just that as the Boys and Girls Club of Central Arkansas begins a push toward higher education.
"We find a lot of kids don't even have that on their radar screen. They don't think past next week or especially past age 18," said Pedigo.
Pedigo new job is to change that and in doing so break a cycle of poverty and violence for many of the kids.
"We're down in the trenches with them, on the basketball courts, in the games rooms, at the water fountains with them, building relationships with these kids," Pedigo explained.
That approach appear to be working. In a survey of Boys and Girls Club caregivers in Central Arkansas, 81% reported improved school performance in their child.
Now Pedigo wants to take those kids and aim them toward higher education by assuring their ACTs are taken and college applications are filled out.
"The key to ending poverty and violence is education and we have these kids in our doors everyday as a great place to hang out, but we really want to do more," he added.
"Just simply a place to go and play basketball and play sports and games after school to keep you off the streets and out of trouble," Pedigo explained of the club.
Now as an adult, Pedigo will tell you the Boys Club had the biggest positive impact on his life. He remembers it as a place where he immediately felt safe.
"You learn a lot of things about diversity, across different racial barriers and language barriers and socioeconomic backgrounds," Pedigo said.
He ultimately obtained a MBA and entered the world of business, only to have his heart lead him back to the place where he began. Pedigo wanted to guide Boys and Girls Club kids to post high school education and beyond. Now he's doing just that as the Boys and Girls Club of Central Arkansas begins a push toward higher education.
"We find a lot of kids don't even have that on their radar screen. They don't think past next week or especially past age 18," said Pedigo.
Pedigo new job is to change that and in doing so break a cycle of poverty and violence for many of the kids.
"We're down in the trenches with them, on the basketball courts, in the games rooms, at the water fountains with them, building relationships with these kids," Pedigo explained.
That approach appear to be working. In a survey of Boys and Girls Club caregivers in Central Arkansas, 81% reported improved school performance in their child.
Now Pedigo wants to take those kids and aim them toward higher education by assuring their ACTs are taken and college applications are filled out.
"The key to ending poverty and violence is education and we have these kids in our doors everyday as a great place to hang out, but we really want to do more," he added.
