The “what if’s” produce a giddiness reminiscent of Christmas as a child, and at some point, you begin thinking about who else can join you in, what very well may be, a quest that changes the world. You stare at the empty squares and circles on a flowchart and wonder, “will it ever work?”
Five years removed from the day NG3 President, Matt Williams, sat across from current NG3 Director at Grayson High School, Dustin Mattox, and cast the vision of NG3, several hundred students have been the recipients of lessons on integrity, honesty and the importance of unmatched character. A multitude of students have been involved in service projects for their communities. Students have led their peers in character lessons and taken on leadership roles that would’ve been otherwise unavailable. In addition, a number of teenagers have voluntarily chosen to grow in their spiritual walks with Jesus. At the heart of the vision of NG3, one person serves as the leader of all the various ways of investing into a high school and the surrounding community, but never has the expectation been for that person to do it alone. You’ve heard the adage, “It takes a village.” Standing on the wisdom in that saying, NG3 finds, trains, and empowers volunteers in their “village” who are willing to invest in and raise up the next generation.
Monday morning meeting at the Grayson Coffee House
At NG3 Grayson, the “squares” are filling up with great people who want to take an active role for the next generation. The empty placeholders on a flowchart, now have names! Instead of working with the student athletes of just one sport this semester, NG3 will be serving six sports at Grayson. This has been made possible by the willingness of members from the community who recognize the impact they can make in the lives of the next generation with a small sacrifice of their time. Boys and Girls Soccer, Boys Lacrosse, and Baseball will all receive the benefits of having an NG3 leader working with their teams. In addition, the young men and women of the Track & Field teams and also Cheerleading, will have leaders investing in them. This means several more lessons on respect and hard work, perseverance and integrity. More opportunities for altruistic acts of community service will be made available, and many more students will be able to step into areas of leadership, right where they are, and impact their own generation.
The “what if’s” are morphing into incredible stories of students winning at more than just sports. The empty squares are being filled with names: Cliff, Brandon, Anita, Darren, Jonas, Cheryl, Greg, Jonathan, Kathy, Bill, and Chase. This vision of making a real difference in our communities is coming to fruition due to the selflessness of one generation investing in the next. It is an amazing testament of what can be accomplished with a little selflessness and sacrifice. If you would like to meet the NG3 team at Grayson and find out more of what the future holds with NG3 at Grayson and NG3 at large, please email Dustin Mattox at dustin@ng3.org to rsvp for the next community meeting on February 11th at 7pm (location TBD).
Together….we can Be the difference!
Interested in finding out more about what NG3 is doing to make a difference in the Next Generation or how you can help? Go to www.ng3.org. NG3 is a non-profit 501(c)3 independently funded by donors like you!!
NG3
P.O. Box 1429
Snellville, GA 30078
www.ng3.org
NG3 stands for Next Generation: Character Community Change. Their goal is to develop men and women of character to create a positive change in our communities. NG3 works directly with student athletes in high schools, teaching and practicing the importance of strong core values like responsibility, humility, integrity and honesty. The staff of NG3 works along side the coaches providing a constant presence of reliability and service.
