Photo by Wesley Tydings.
impact, rather than just having a select few who get to go. For me, it was deep to be able to bring this to my community. Super humbling.” Ward kept a full schedule as a youth (just as he continues to do), participating in afterschool programs, the VisionWorkshops photography program, and science and math clubs that would lead into summer programs and camps, as well as playing sports.
32 | Winter 2017
Ward points out that that there are no longer playgrounds or basketball courts in his community. Sports can be expensive. “People complain about kids, but what is offered to keep their minds occupied? No rec centers to do homework, and if the parents aren’t there, it may not get done. A chain of events with a ripple effect: one thing goes wrong, everything does, all because we
relied on the first thing to keep the ball from rolling downhill.” This only underscores the need for and impact of programs such as VisionWorkshops. The Coming Up workshop provided an opportunity for a group of youths, ages 11 to 18, to work on different assignments for five days after first getting prepared by professional