Ron Soeder is CEO and president of Boys & Girls Clubs of Cleveland.Ron Soeder
Guest columnist Ron Soeder has been president and CEO of Boys & Girls Clubs of Cleveland since May 2006. He joined the organization after spending nearly three decades as a senior executive in the consumer products industry. In October, he was one of the presenters at ‘Reality Shifts,’ a TEDx/Cleveland State University event. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Baldwin Wallace University and a master’s degree from the University of Akron. He and his wife, Sherry, live in Concord Township.
Rayshawn Armstrong oozed charisma.
He told jokes that left our Boys & Girls Clubs of Cleveland kids giggling uncontrollably. He patiently helped children with homework. He played games with youthful joy. He helped change lives.
So when Rayshawn, 25, a BGCC staff member, was shot and killed while sitting in the passenger’s seat of a car in 2014, his co-workers wept and an entire community felt a deep sense of loss. Unfortunately, street violence has claimed the lives of more than 50 members of our Boys & Girls Clubs of Cleveland family since I became CEO of the organization 10 years ago. I vividly remember the sobering response of one young, inner-city panelist who, when asked at a conference what he wanted for his 18th birthday, said, “I have it. I am still alive.”
At another recent event, a Club alumnus who grew up in Cleveland’s King Kennedy neighborhood was asked whether she had ever been personally impacted by a violent death. She replied, “I have experienced more (murders) than I have years in my life.” She is 22.
Hopes and dreams wither in a world where kids can’t get to school or work safely.
It doesn’t have to be that way. We, as a community, can help restore those hopes and dreams by creating safe, positive places for youth, steering teens and young adults away from gangs and showing them the path to good jobs. Or we can ignore those issues, writing off those lost dreams as someone else’s problem. We will pay either way. The difference is whether we invest in ways to help kids become productive citizens with bright futures or construct more prisons.
Here at BGCC, we’ve decided we cannot and will not look the other way. We are committed to working where we are needed most – in Cleveland neighborhoods and the inner-ring suburbs – rather than where it might be more comfortable. We agreed to take over Cleveland Peacemakers Alliance, an anti-gang initiative, because we believe this effort is vital, not because it is easy.
I urge you to join us by getting involved in efforts to help Cleveland’s at-risk kids and young adults. Support or volunteer with one of the many organizations doing good work in the inner city. At our Clubs, for example, we teach kids how to be good citizens, live healthy lives and succeed in the classroom. Youth who aren’t headed to college can get training for a good career. Those with a knack for growing things have opportunities in our urban farm program. Our new recording studio gives teens an outlet to express themselves and learn how to play instruments. None of these programs would be possible without our partners, supporters and volunteers.
I have grown tired of seeing the teddy bears that mark each death scene in our neighborhoods. I want to change the dialogue to celebrating a birthday, a promotion in school, a winning performance on the field and on the stage and a graduation from high school or college. Let’s celebrate life.
It has been estimated that between all the expenditures for police investigations, emergency rescue services, medical treatment, legal services and incarceration, it costs $1 million each time a bullet hits flesh. For young people like Rayshawn Armstrong, the price is much steeper – and one we cannot afford.
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