While most of us meander through life, there is the occasional soul who comes along who has priorities straight and is truly here working to make the world a better place for all.
Malcom Reed is one of those people.
Reed had a youth that a lot of people would not have been able to recover from: a mother with substance abuse issues, homelessness, a criminal record. Most of what he remembers, Reed told The Herald-Sun earlier this week, was that people kept telling him he was going to be nothing.
Reed, with the support of some caring folks whose paths crossed his, did a most remarkable thing. He decided that he was something, never mind what he’d been told. He altered his course, getting away from selling drugs. He got an education. He played college and professional basketball. He traveled the world. He has so richly embraced life, it’s hard to see the shadows on the path he has journeyed along. But they are there. And they have enabled him to have a special connection with others who are uncertain about their self-worth and where they are headed.
Reed, 31, has chosen to work with at-risk youths through his D3 Community Outreach program. And he is the teen career academy coordinator at the Durham Literacy Center.
Both the students who have learned from Reed and Reginald Hodges, the head of the Literacy Center, recognize what a gift Reed is. Students talk about how much Reed has helped them. Hodges talks about what a connection Reed has with the students.
Reed has certainly become something. And what makes Reed so special is not only did he become something, he is making sure he brings along a host of others on that path to finding a sense of self-worth, a stable life and hope for the future. For making this world a better place in a way that is so meaningful and will have such long-lasting effects, this week’s Grit Award winner is Malcom Reed.
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