Reflections on "Hitting for Haiti"

Most days, I feel really insignificant...not in a depressing or futilistic way...but I've become acustomed to my simple life of serving my kids, loving the people around me, and just generally feeling comfortable in that God has me where He wants me in this place and time. But then there are thosee brief shining moments of greatness or adventure that confirm to me that God is indeed in control, He has a perfect purpose for me in this world, and if only I just had a little more faith, maybe, just maybe, He has destined me for to do great things much greater than myself. "Hitting for Haiti" has become one of those brief shining moments for me.

To give you a little bit of background..."Hitting for Haiti" started as a simple idea for my 8th grade girls volleyball team to take their focus away from repeating as conference champions this season, and to focus on something much more worthwile...scoring points and winning games to raise money for children and teens in need in Haiti. My kids come from a very blue collar, middle-working class families and they usually dont have the resources to help others in this way either...the goal was to show them that they can make a difference no matter their age or resources. For more information, go to my district's website: http://www.d45.dupage.k12.il.us/mainframes/indexje.htm and click on "Hitting for Haiti."

The fundraising aspect of this campaign worked. In fact, the kids became so invested in Haiti, that the 7th grade girls team and both boys teams jump on board with us, and student council even contributed through a fundraiser. The idea continued to snowball as the girls began to write letters to local business, face painted for donations at our tournaments, and I even found myself taking girls to meet with important community figures to discuss what we were doing. We even made the front page of the local section of the Chicago Tribune! Dan Super, the Social Studies teacher on my team (God love him!) even dedicated a lesson to Hitting for Haiti...not about the country...but about the power that one person's idea can have in the world...He had the kids begging me and trying to convince me to go global!

All in all, we've raised over $1700 to date, with more money and encouraging notes coming in every day. My mom asked me the other day if I am proud of myself for all that we've accomplished, but to tell you the truth, this season has been nothing short of hellish for me. While the focus on Haiti worked, the lack of focus on winning did not...You need to understand that my kids come from the "other side of the tracks" and this particular class has been blessed with exceptional athletes who have grown accustomed to winning...the one thing that they can claim and be proud of. But it is the pressure and the lack of rallying around the team and the lack of leaders leading that came with this that really made things difficult for me this season. I had girls who played last year alienating the girls who were new to the team this year, actualy blaming them for losses saying that they didn't want to win. I had my captains lead a pitty party one night after a loss. They literally told me that it was my fault we lost the game because I put players in who were not as good as them. I had complete meltdowns on the court from one bad play...the frustration got to them and they couldn't play through mistakes that just brought the entire team down. At one point in the season, we lost to a team that hadn't won a game in over 2 years. That sucked! It was only a handful of my girls who did this, and I shed a lot of blood sweat and tears trying to get this girls to see that winning isn't everything...that winning isn't everything...that becoming a leader doesnt just mean being a good athlete, and that having great athletic skills alone doesn't make a team...its the process, the growth, that makes one great!

It was difficult at first. I benched kids. I cancelled practice for team building activities, I forced them to do things in practice that made them rely on each other...some of the time these things were carried out with much anger, much frustrations, tears, and a few even became rebellious. Clearly, Satan was trying to foil our H4H campaign...thankfully it didn't happen.

I'd like to add a small note here about Alan Derr...the 7th grade girls coach. I don't know what I would have done without that man. If it weren't for his constant words of encouragement, confirmation, and sometimes fighitng words, I'm not sure I would have made it out alive. I've been fortunate enough to work with him closely in several capasities over the past few years, and he has become one of my role models. I <3 you Alan!

By the end of the season, I believe that I had gotten through to most of the girls...a visible transformation occurred in a few of them and they told me so at season's end. We ended up taking 2nd in conference, and in our last game, we defeated the conference champs, robbing them of a perfect season; but there was still 1 girl who held out with the negative attitude. It pains me to say it, but you can't save them all, right?

But here I've spent too much time on the negative when there are some girls on my team who deserve the real recognition. I want to tell you all about 1 in particcular. We'll call her T for the sake of annonymity. T is new to the school this year. She spends most of the day learning in the Emotional-Behavioral Special Ed classroom because she has been diagnosed with a psycotic disorder. She hangs out with the kids that I had to testify against last summer, had a discipline that could stretch the length of a volleyball coaurt, and all indications were that she was a real piece of work in the classroom. I took her anyway, and found her to be an incredible 13-year old who just happened to be stuck in a sucky life situation. She moved to Villa Park because Dad-the alcoholic and stop mom had won custody of she and her sister. I bought her the uniform, kneepads and shoes because her parents woudln't. At one point, she shared with me that she was been having increcibly painful pains in her abdomen and that no one would take her to the doctor. One day they were so bad, that she could barely walk. I tried to get DCFS involved, but without visibale signs of neglect, they said it was her word against her parents(seriously...what is this world coming to), so I told her to go home, lay kicking and screaming on the floor until someone took her to a doctor). She did it and it turned out that she had had a kidney infection for 2 months. Thank goodness the got her antibiodics when they did. The whole situations just makes me sick thinking about it. But here is my point in telling you this...during the course of the season, her behavior at school really started to turn around. And despite her neglect at home, she turned out to be one of the girls who bought most in to H4H. She was the one making the signs and leading the cheers both on and off the court. She uplifted my heart every day. I have several girls on my team with similar stories...most thankfully are not that severe, but there is divorce, domestic violence, lost jobs, kids taking care of kids...its no wonder that these kids otherwise never felt they could make a difference in the world...but Hitting for Haiti made them think differently. The notes and recognition have been really crucial in helping them understand that too. They were really excited about the Trib article. A councilor from a nearby middle school phoned me telling me that they are gathering supplies for a different ministry in Haiti but we must have spoke for an hour after school just telling each other about our missions and progress with the promise to keep in touch and encourage each other's kids' efforts. Another anonymous woman sent us a check with a note saying, "It is because of kids like you that other children don't have to go to bed hungry tonight. Bless you and all that you are doing." My kids are truely getting a sense that they are not as insignificant as they, or anyone else might make them out to be...

So to answer my mom's question...No. I am not at all proud of myself...maybe it was only because all of the hardship kept me grounded...and in fact I still sometimes feel like a failure for not being able to completely transform all my girls (and even reach that 1) in the areas character building and leadership. But I am in shock and awe in the ways in which God used an idea from little ole me, gave me the courage to pursue it, and exploded it through no doing of my own into somthing much greater than me, my athletes, or even Jefferson Middle School. It makes me wonder at all the other ideas and dreams that I've had that I've pushed to the back of the closet because I was too scared, too stupid, or just lacked enough conficence and faith to really realize them. My kids helped a lot of kids in Haiti get basic needs we all take for granted everyday. Moreover, this campaign gave them the confidence that they too, no matter how insignificant they may feel, make a difference in the lives of others...and for that, I AM SOOOOO PROUD OF THEM!