After-school program helps Missouri students succeed

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. -- While most high school students have tests and social activities on the brain, 15-year-old Gabe Dawson has Olympic-sized dreams.

Gabe is a freshman at Benton High School and a member of the Wesley Weightlifters, an after-school program offered through InterServ's Southside Youth Program at Wesley Center. He started lifting weights in fifth grade when he saw a flier for it at his elementary school, which happened to be an InterServ outreach program. Through that program, he met his coach, Dennis Snethen, and excelled quickly. Now, in addition to continuing his own training, he helps other lifters improve their skills.

"I'm one of the, not older lifters, but I've been here quite the longest, so most of the time I coach them and they learn from me," Gabe said.

He said he thinks youth activities at Wesley Center are important because they give him and his friends outlets to succeed that aren't available elsewhere. They also provide a distraction from temptations teens face that can lead to poor choices.

"During the summer, there wasn't a youth program because they didn't have the funding for it, and yeah, a lot of my friends got in trouble because they didn't have [anything] better to do," Gabe said.

InterServ's executive director, Dave Howery, said besides weightlifting, the Wesley Center offers basketball, mentoring, tutoring and the Summer Jam and Summer Spike programs. Much of the funding for these activities comes from the United Way.

"InterServ is one of the largest recipients of United Way dollars because of that partnership. ...," Howery said. "As Gabe alluded to, if that funding isn't there, then what are those things that we have to cut back on, especially in the summer? It becomes crucial of making that decision of, 'How do we do this?"'

Howery said he believes Gabe is a great example of the kind of success story that can come from the Southside Youth Program, and he highlights the importance of the community's continued generosity in supporting the United Way.

"We call it the common good," Howery said. "From all that, we end up with a lot of leadership and characters that we want for our community."

Gabe is an honor student at Benton and says he does a good job of balancing his studies with his weightlifting. In December, he will travel to Washington, D.C., to compete for a spot on the Youth World Team. If he succeeds, he will be able to represent the United States in Peru. His ultimate goal is to go to the Olympics, but he says he's taking it one step at a time.

"There's a resident program at the Olympic Training Center, and I've been out there about three or four times and I really like it out there, so maybe after high school I can look into that," he said.

Information from: St. Joseph News-Press/St. Joe, Missouri, http://www.newspressnow.com