The Highland Park Boys and Girls Club is closed today. Even Santa’s helpers can use a brief vacation every now and then. Especially on Christmas Day.
“But we had 122 kids in here for a Christmas party last week,” said Orlando Lightfoot, the club’s director. “We gave them all hats, gloves and presents. It’s the most gratifying experience I’ve had since I’ve been here.”
The former City High and Idaho basketball great has run the Highland Park facility for a little more than a year. Good as last week was, most days are at least as gut-wrenching as gratifying.
“We have one family where both the mother and father are in and out of jail, the older brothers and sisters are always in juvee (juvenile court), yet the young ones come every day,” Lightfoot explained. “You have to dig deep sometimes to find this stuff out, because they don’t start out trusting you. They’ve been disappointed so often, you have to earn it, but when you really look, there are some tough stories out there.”
He’s also constantly told that his club is home to gang members, who are often one bad decision from winding up in jail. Or much worse.