John Wickham, chair of the Relatives board, opens the annual fundraising breakfast by comparing homeless youth to abandoned luggage at an airport. He thanks staff, volunteers, and donors, and emphasizes that the organization's services—showers, meals, mentorship, counseling, shelter—require collective support as it approaches its 40th anniversary.
All right, so good morning and, and welcome. Please go ahead, there's a lot of good food and coffee and other sundry items, so please eat during the program. That's why it's there. So my name is John Wickham, and I have the privilege of currently serving as Chair of the Board of Directors for the Relatives. Beginning in January of Of next year, the Relatives will begin celebrating its 40th year of existence. And this breakfast marks the 6th occasion of this early morning event, which has done so much to contribute to the vital work performed by the Relatives. I was sitting on a plane recently and thinking about this year's breakfast. As I sat there and stared out the window, I was amazed By the amount of activity. Planes and fuel trucks and ground maintenance, security vehicles, landing specialists, and baggage carriers. It all appeared a bit chaotic. As I watched, a luggage carrier comes flying around a bend and a piece of luggage flies off the cart. Now, as you look closer at the tarmac, you realize that there are markers and yellow lines and other indicators that govern this seemingly random flow. of activity. These various guideposts are critical in the overall process of helping passengers and their belongings get from where they are to, to where they want to go. Well, this bag lay just outside a set of yellow lines that dictate where the baggage carts can drive. It was just out of the way enough to allow the next carts to come by unobstructed. And come by they did, one after another, never stopping to pick up the bag. As we pulled away from the gate, I strained to see if someone, anyone, was going to stop and pick up that bag. Maybe someone did eventually, but I did not see it. My guess is that that bag missed its flight, maybe became lost. At a minimum, that bag had a very rough trip. So here we are. We're here today to take a look through a window into the lives of youth who may have run away, who may be homeless, who may be in a crisis situation at home, youth that need additional resources to navigate that challenging transition into adulthood. There are way too many children and young adults that are homeless, living in the streets, and in desperate need of a place to lay their head at night. Too many young adults that need a job to provide themselves with the basic necessities of life. Many of these kids and young adults are simply outside the yellow lines. That's right. They need to be connected into that sometimes indecipherable system of guideposts and directional markers. They are not on those carts that are taking other kids to make their connections. We need to stop. We need to help put these kids back on the right track and help them move forward in a positive direction. As I look out at all the people here this morning, I'm reminded of the African proverb, Which basically says it takes a village to raise a child, and indeed it does. And the village for many of these children and young adults we're going to discuss today is right here, right in this room today. It is the talented and dedicated professionals who, under the able direction of our Executive Director, Brennan Graham, work tirelessly and selflessly for the relatives. And I see so many of their bright faces who always have a smile on their face. Thank you. It is a dedicated board of directors. It is the volunteers that give so much of their time and energy, but also provide some basic necessities like food and drink. It is our sponsors who I'd like to quickly recognize. It's Wells Fargo, it's MillerCoors, Austin and Bird, Cardinal Partners, Coca-Cola Consolidated, Harris Teeter, Simplicity Organizers. We'd also like to thank Designer Mosaic— Designer Glass Mosaic for the beautiful centerpieces at each one of your tables that were made by kids at the relatives with their assistance. I'd like to thank Starbucks for providing the coffee, Chick-fil-A South End for providing the chicken biscuits, And also acting as one of our safe place locations, and to the scone shop for the delicious, delicious scones. And importantly, maybe most importantly today, that village is you. It is you who took time out of your busy day to be here. It is you who have already made the decision to stop and listen and learn. And it is you, we hope, who will help these kids get on their way towards the We have a great program for you today, and I'm confident that you will leave with more insight into the needs of these children and young adults and the wonderful work of the relatives. Whether it's a hot shower, a free meal, an understanding friend, a mentor to show the way, a counselor to talk through problems, or maybe just a safe bed to sleep at night. Thank you, Mr. A place that provides safety and stability today and the dream of a successful future tomorrow. This place is the relative, and our door is always open. So please sit back, continue to eat, and enjoy the video. Thank you.
