Saturday, hundreds of basketball fans and players took over the PARK gym as Real Deal in the Rock went into overdrive.
Some asked Keith Jackson, who along with wife Melanie founded Positive Atmosphere Reaches Kids, about what is behind the door in the athletic facility.
Keith and Melanie, who practically raised their two sons at PARK explain that the gym is the fun part of the building, but through that door is the future for many youngsters in central Arkansas.
It is the heart and soul of PARK, which is celebrating its 20th birthday this year, something of a miracle in itself.
The real miracles, though, are the lives that have been touched and changed because of the Jacksons.
This is the 15th anniversary of the first class of six graduates. In 2013, there were 39. This year, 26 graduates will receive their rings and a small amount of money ($20 each), like those before them.
That's more than 400 at-risk young people who had less than a 2.0 GPA and very few, if any, goals in life.
A young lady in that first graduating class told those who attended the graduation that when she started at PARK she hated Keith, her counselors, and even the building. She talked about how her friends were hanging out, drinking and having fun.
Then she announced that day she had been offered a full scholarship to Ouachita Baptist University. She would graduate and go on to get her master's degree. That's a long way from hanging out.
Of those who have graduated in the past 15 years -- all were struggling academically when they entered the program in the eighth grade -- 269 went to college, and 209 had scholarships.
More than 20 opted for the military and many more for trade schools.
There are currently 224 PARK graduates in college.
That's a difference-maker, but the success of the program was determined long ago when Keith and Melanie vowed to be hands-on.
This was always a calling, never a charity event.
The students pay nothing, although parental involvement and community service are required. More than 5,000 hours of community service have been logged in the past 10 years alone.
The operation of this incredible learning center comes from donations; and not just any donations.
A major beer company offered to underwrite a large part of the finances before the Jacksons ever opened the door, but Keith didn't have to think about it -- he politely said no thanks.
Too many of the students have encountered alcohol abuse in their lives.
To get the doors open was almost like divine intervention. The facility where PARK operates was offered at a very reasonable price. Later, a grant from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation allowed for much-needed improvements.
But it took a chain of events to get things started.
Keith met the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's former marketing director Estel Jeffery, who introduced him to Walter Hussman, owner of the newspaper, who came on board. It was with Hussman's personal help, along with friends he personally recruited, that helped open the doors in 2006.
PARK is alive and thriving, but the need is always there to ensure the future of the young people in central Arkansas.
Keith will celebrate his 50th birthday in a few weeks, and he doesn't want personal gifts. But he's asking that if a person or corporation wants to be a part of a proven team that is making a difference, send him a birthday card (6915 Geyer Springs Road, Little Rock, Ark., 72209) with a donation.
He's hoping for a lot, but then if he and Melanie hadn't dared to dream big PARK wouldn't have become a life-saver for hundreds and a difference-maker in central Arkansas.
Sports on 04/05/2015