Adam Anderson is getting by with a little help from his friends in order to offer a lot of help to total strangers.
The 17-year-old Rossville homeschool student is planning a 5K road race next month to raise money to rebuild a church in Sudan and has quickly learned the value of networking.
“It’s amazing what you can do being a teenager — all the people you know, the connections you have,” Adam said.
The effort to stage a race grew out of an interview he did with three former refugees from Sudan for a history fair project. The more he learned about the young men, who were left homeless and helpless when entire villages were destroyed by religious terrorists, the more he wanted to help.
When Adam met with the former Sudanese boys at the University of the South, he was told how lucky he was to be an American and what a voice he had as a U.S. citizen.
“I was the only one of my friends who knew about this,” he said. “I was the only connection. If one person doesn’t tell (others), it dies out.”
In the last three years, Adam and 20 other students who have become a part of a Students for Sudan Club have sent blankets, action packs, money and other items to the country through several organizations.
A 2009 car wash raised $611 to help build one church in southern Sudan, but the group hopes to raise enough money with the road race to build an entire church.
“I was pretty interested in running,” said Adam, who was on a homeschool cross country team in the fall. “I saw that (organizations) got a lot of money from races. It’s a big pastime. A lot of people are interested in getting in shape.”
Involvement with physical fitness is not new for Adam. During the week, the certified lifeguard can be found at the Hamilton Family YMCA helping instruct several swimming classes for homeschool students.
The sessions for students his age involve more swimming practice than swimming instruction, but he said there is more confidence building to do with students as young as 4 years old.
“Some of them really get scared,” Adam said. “You have to help them get confidence that they won’t drown as long as they have floaties.”
He said playing in the water with the youngsters outside of the instruction gives them a sense of trust.
“That makes it not as hard teaching them as it would be,” Adam said. “It takes them a while to realize they won’t sink under water. It helps get their confidence up.”
Jean Wiseman, volunteer coordinator at the Hamilton Family YMCA, said the little children he helps instruct, look up to him and want to be like him.
“He loves people,” she said. “It’s a gift God has given him.”
The meticulous planning and organization Adam has done for the 5K race are “a cool thing,” Ms. Wiseman said.
“Kids can do a lot,” she said.
Fitness, according to Adam, came naturally to him and his brother since they didn’t have a video system when they were younger and were encouraged to play outside and swim in the family’s pool.
“It’s been pretty important,” he said.