The face of a little boy, bright eyed, innocent, and full of energy popped through an empty window shouting out “what y’all doing in there?” and it was at this moment that Josh Whitlock’s life changed forever. On a mission to bring light to a neighborhood with a history of so much darkness, Josh Whitlock, along with a group of dedicated and committed members of his church were working diligently to restore a building in one of the worst neighborhoods in Columbia
Marvin was his name, a native to “The Gates” neighborhood, about 5 years old, made a pitstop to see who these foreign people were in his “hood”. Marvin continued to stop by day after day with a crowd to check up, check in, and oversee the progress. “It wasn’t long before I knew their …show more content…
After reaching out to various members of the community, they were given permission to use the very building they were restoring in “The Gates” neighborhood to house the afterschool program. What started off as two days a week, with six kids, and a couple of dedicated volunteers, the program grew rapidly. Within a year they were at capacity, they were at 16 kids, short on volunteers and stuck in a rut, trying to find the next step.
Josh recalls his phone ringing, it was the pastor at Grace church, they were looking for a group of people to host an afterschool program in their education center and the timing could not have been more perfect. Shortly after the call, Gates Community was condemmed, “if it wasn’t for Grace Church we would have had to shut our doors,” said Josh.
Today, the afterschool program is flourishing, it host over 20 kids, is open four days a week, has five passionate teachers, and an abundance of volunteers, the program is doing better than anyone could have …show more content…
On top this, he is excited to announce his next venture “EZE farms.” This initive is aimed at teaching teaching middle and high school aged boys the skills they need to be sucessful entreprenuers in the future and to allow them the opportunity to earn money while doing so. This program is expected to start up in May of 2017.
“Watching these kids evolve has been the most rewarding part of what I do, kids like him” Whitlock says as he points to a little boy sitting in timeout in the corner of his office. “kids like Marvin, they become my family.” Josh’s commitment to the kids he encounters and each of his endeavours fuel his continued success.
When asked what’s next for Ezekiel Ministries, Josh reflects on his “many blessings, they give me the drive to keep going, the motivation to do more, and the desire to give my all, so who knows we’ll see what will
Marvin was his name, a native to “The Gates” neighborhood, about 5 years old, made a pitstop to see who these foreign people were in his “hood”. Marvin continued to stop by day after day with a crowd to check up, check in, and oversee the progress. “It wasn’t long before I knew their …show more content…
After reaching out to various members of the community, they were given permission to use the very building they were restoring in “The Gates” neighborhood to house the afterschool program. What started off as two days a week, with six kids, and a couple of dedicated volunteers, the program grew rapidly. Within a year they were at capacity, they were at 16 kids, short on volunteers and stuck in a rut, trying to find the next step.
Josh recalls his phone ringing, it was the pastor at Grace church, they were looking for a group of people to host an afterschool program in their education center and the timing could not have been more perfect. Shortly after the call, Gates Community was condemmed, “if it wasn’t for Grace Church we would have had to shut our doors,” said Josh.
Today, the afterschool program is flourishing, it host over 20 kids, is open four days a week, has five passionate teachers, and an abundance of volunteers, the program is doing better than anyone could have …show more content…
On top this, he is excited to announce his next venture “EZE farms.” This initive is aimed at teaching teaching middle and high school aged boys the skills they need to be sucessful entreprenuers in the future and to allow them the opportunity to earn money while doing so. This program is expected to start up in May of 2017.
“Watching these kids evolve has been the most rewarding part of what I do, kids like him” Whitlock says as he points to a little boy sitting in timeout in the corner of his office. “kids like Marvin, they become my family.” Josh’s commitment to the kids he encounters and each of his endeavours fuel his continued success.
When asked what’s next for Ezekiel Ministries, Josh reflects on his “many blessings, they give me the drive to keep going, the motivation to do more, and the desire to give my all, so who knows we’ll see what will