TRI-LAKES AREA — The hallways of Malvern Elementary School were buzzing Saturday during the annual Back to School Youth Explosion, where students received free school supplies, complimentary haircuts and a whole lot more.
More than 500 parents and children attended the fifth annual event, organized by the Rev. Henry Mitchell, founder of the nonprofit organization Victory and pastor of Mount Willow Baptist Church.
A Malvern native, Mitchell started Victory in late 2004 to help area children. He had recently retired from Sears and opened his own business, and he was looking for a way to give back.
“The Lord really blessed my business,” he said. “It took off, and the Lord spoke to me and said I need to give back to the community that has blessed me so well.”
While trying to figure out what he could do for the community, Mitchell recalled his own childhood and not having sufficient school supplies.
“I had to borrow paper. I had to borrow a pencil. And it wasn’t just me. There were a lot of childrenthat were my age and below me and above me whose families just didn’t have the money even to buy pencil and paper,” he said. “When I reflected back on that, I thought, ‘Hey, this is a way to make sure the kids don’t have to worry about having those things.’”
Victory began through the support of Mitchell’s own business and has since grown to include many sponsors and a number of volunteers who pitch in to help out each year.
“There are a lot of people in Malvern who love children and realize that they do need help, and they are willing to step up and be a help to the children,” Mitchell said.
At the event on Saturday, Mitchell’s son, Terrence Mitchell, the owner of Trinity Hair Solutions, volunteered his time to give free haircuts, while the high school cheerleaders and drum line offered some entertainment, and teachers and other community members handed out school supplies.
“Giving back to the community in any way would be a wonderful thing, but just giving back to the kids makes it all that more wonderful - giving them a chance to have the school supplies that normally their parents may not have been able to give them,” said Anthony Bens, who attended the event Saturday with his son, Jayce Johnson, 9.
In addition to the school supplies, Mitchell also hopes to provide children with a positive, uplifting message.
“Every year we have had a motivational speaker because it’s not about just giving them the supplies,” he said. “It’s about their attitude. It doesn’t matter how many supplies they have if they don’t have the right attitude going into school, into their classroom. Tools won’t help very much if [they] don’t have a desire to use them in the right way.”
Former NFL Football player and Malvern native Keith Traylor was this year’s motivational speaker, bringing with him the message, “Anything is possible with hard work.”
Traylor, a graduate of Malvern High School, went on to play NFL football for several teams, including the Denver Broncos, the Green Bay Packers and the Miami Dolphins. He now resides in Oklahoma.
“I hadn’t done anything like this, and when I was presented with the opportunity, I thought it would be an excellent idea to reach out to the children around here and just let them know thatanything is possible,” Traylor said. “I just wanted to give back, basically, and I hadn’t done that the way I thought I should have here in Malvern, and I’m thankful to be able to have the opportunity to do it.”
Following his speech, Traylor was presented with a plaque for his participation and was on hand to pose for pictures and sign autographs.
“I think he is the greatest,” Mitchell said. “He is really a great asset to this community. He’s a part of this community in a lot of ways, even though he doesn’t live here now. But he loves his community, and he was just so willing to come and do this for us, so he’s a great guy and he’s accomplished a lot of things in his life.”
Mitchell, too, is an asset to the community, making a positive difference in the lives of area children.
“I think he’s awesome,” said Angie Ledbetter, a kindergarten teacher at Malvern Elementary School. “He started this from nothing, and it’s grown every year. He does an awesome job of organizing, getting donations and then all the volunteers - the hours that are put in - and we have good support with the kids. All the service clubs and organizations, the spirit groups always come out and help, so that’s really neat to see everybody come together.”
Tri-Lakes, Pages 54 on 08/12/2010