Boston Common - Niche Media - A side of Boston that's anything but common.
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PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF LINO SANCHEZ the law, Sam was ambitious and headed toward a career in medicine. He also possessed a mentor- ing streak, having tutored kids since he was 13 years old. He saw something special in Sanchez. "He had a raw wisdom and compelling curios- ity," Sam recalls. "He struck me as a very caring soul with an innate sense of humanity. I imme- diately recognized that he would benefit from some encouragement." So one day, Sam threw his cellmate a book. "You know, you're a smart kid," he told Sanchez. "You're wasting your life. You should read this book." The novel was Richard Wright's Native Son, which traces the journey of a young African-American boy and the choices he makes in life. It does not end well. Sanchez read the book—his first ever—from cover to cover. When he was finished, he read another book, followed by another. Then he decided to change his life. By the time he was released from prison in 1993, Sanchez had earned his high school GED and an acceptance letter to attend the University of Massachusetts. Over the next decade, he held odd jobs, worked at the Pine Street Inn, a home- less shelter on Harrison Street, and volunteered as a basketball coach at the Epiphany School in Dorchester, where he was eventually hired as the athletic director. In 2009, Sanchez founded Urban Achievers, a nonprofit devoted to identifying troubled kids and helping them turn right, instead of left. Sanchez was on a crusade to teach kids not to do what he did. The organization, based out of the Epiphany School, where Sanchez is now the dean of students, provides education, support, and counseling for individuals and their families after school and during the summer. The $40,000 annual budget is privately funded by supporters. "We have what we call academies in things like cooking, photography, fitness, and finances to teach kids other skills," says Sanchez, who oversees the programs at Urban Achievers and counsels kids and their families. Boston Police officers offer regular sessions on gang intervention and bul- lying prevention, while community leaders like Dr. Peter L. Slavin, president of Massachusetts General Hospital and a professor of health care policy at Harvard Medical School, provide sup- port. "I am particularly attracted to the health and fitness component," Slavin says. "This program is key not only to the health of these children, but to society as a whole." On March 29 Urban Achievers will host a reception at the Epiphany School to recruit volun- teers to help tutor, hold workshops, secure funding, and serve as mentors. "Urban Achievers is only as successful as the like-minded volunteers who devote their time and energy to help serve the children within the program," says Sanchez. "We are teaching kids life skills. It's a journey toward self-sufficiency." Thirteen-year-old Iziah Rezendes has started on this journey thanks to Sanchez. "I was in the gym when Lino came over and said, 'You need to be in this program,'" the eighth grader recalls. "I said, 'What's in it for me?' He replied, 'A life!' He was serious about it." Rezendes, who has now been an Urban Achiever for four years, is the oldest of four boys, each from a different father. "One of the most important things I get from this program is a constant reality check. I often get myself in trou- ble, but Lino and Urban Achievers never give up on me. He holds me accountable, and I honestly hate that because I feel like I can't do whatever I want. I know it's for the best, though, so I suck it up. They are my family." During the past four years, Urban Achievers has helped some 200 kids, from fifth grade through high school, and trained more than 100 mentors. Sanchez says that all of the UA gradu- ates in 2013 were accepted with scholarships to Lino Sanchez smiles with his wife and two of his six children at Gillette Stadium last year. continued from page 54 continued on page 58 Lino Sanchez with his grandfather at age 15, when he was already out of school and having run-ins with the law. 56 BOSTONCOMMON-MAGAZINE.COM SPIRIT OF GENEROSITY " I can spot a kid who needs us right away.... I think to myself, I know that kid. at was me."LINO SANCHEZ 054-058_BC_SP_SpofGen_Spring14.indd 56 2/6/14 4:43 PM