NEW BEDFORD, Mass. (AP) - Two years ago John “Buddy” Andrade, a community activist in New Bedford, made a promise to Aaron Gant Jr. before he was fatally shot on New Year’s Eve in 2015.
Gant worked for Andrade as a landscaper through the Safe & Successful Youth Initiative in the South End of the New Bedford. He heard that an afterschool basketball program had shut down at the Gomes School and expressed interest in reopening the program with Andrade.
Gant never had an opportunity to do that.
“We made a commitment to him that we would do everything in our power to get the school open and programs running,” Andrade said. “And we did just that.”
Now, two years later, for three nights a week the Alfred Gomes Elementary School gymnasium is a hub of youthful energy for teens across the city. They are learning more than how to shoot a basketball.
“They’re learning how to police themselves,” Andrade said.
In the eyes of Andrade if they can appoint their own team captains to select teams without resorting to arguments or violence, in a sense, they’re learning how an organization is run through democracy, parliamentary procedures and voting.
“In a way, when you’re teaching them this stuff it becomes a civic lesson of sorts,” he said.
Currently, the open gym at the Gomes School happens three days a week - on Tuesdays and Thursdays a teen night and on Wednesdays a youth night - on a two-month lease approved by New Bedford Public Schools. Andrade is looking to put together a proposal that would allow year round usage of school facilities and town parks in an effort to create an organized intramural league called the Ben Rose Intramural Sports Programs. More than basketball, the league would encompass various levels of baseball, flag football, soccer and track. The program would accommodate in-school, after-school and evening sports activities for students of the Gomes and Renaissance Schools with the idea of fostering an environment of sportsmanship and team building skills while leading them on a path to deadline.
“Our goal is to raise somewhere between $10,000 and $15,000 to create a year round program in our local schools and parks. We’d start in September and go all the way until April,” he said.
Andrew O’Leary, business manager for New Bedford Public Schools, could only foresee logistics as a possible speed bump in Andrade’s way.
“I don’t see any significant obstacles,” O’Leary said, calling Andrade a “champion of the students” in the South End. “The students participating are our students, so it’s a net positive. “It’s a matter of logistics, scheduling and costs maintaining the facilities to be factored.”
According to O’Leary, it would surprise many people how much it actually costs the school system to maintain athletic fields, gymnasiums and tracks, citing a $20-$30 an hour fee for custodial work.
“It can be a significant financial responsibility,” he said.
There are cases where the school’s subcommittees can partially or wholly waive the yearly fee assuming an agreement can be worked out ensuring the facilities are maintained for school students.
Andrade’s open gym is currently approved through April 28 thanks to donations from various private businesses like John B. Cruz Construction, which did rehabilitation work for the Verdean Gardens in the South End last year.
Without the year round approval, Andrade has been able to breakdown turf barriers around the city and has united 658 students from the city in 2016.
New Bedford Chief of Police Joseph Cordeiro has taken notice.
“It’s comforting to see these kids having a place to play regardless of the neighborhood they live in. They can come from any neighborhood and play in the same school. Optimistically, he’s bringing folks from other neighborhoods together to realize there are more similarities than differences and accept those differences. This is a step towards that,” Cordeiro said.
DeNelson Santos, an 18-year-old from the South End who currently attends New Bedford High, agreed.
“It’s a good place to come to,” Santos, who’s been coming to the open gym twice a week for the last three months, said. “It’s a good place to ball for free. I think it helps keep kids off the streets. All these guys are my friends and they come from all over the city.”
“Things happen due not having activities,” Andrade said. “I want those kids to get that energy out of them. Instead of causing trouble, they go home. It’s a beautiful situation.”
Andrade hopes by springtime he’ll be sending tired kids from his recreational leagues back home on a regular basis.
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Information from: The (New Bedford, Mass.) Standard-Times, https://www.southcoasttoday.com
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