UTB- Unleash The Brilliance

So. Did you know that if a child misses a certain number of days per school year (even for excused reasons), a school district can (and does) refer that child and the parent to juvenile court as a «truant», to face potential criminal charges?
Well. I do.
As an offset to that occurring, and because the situation was nowhere near «truancy», I opted to do a one-​time class to satisfy the County with Junior in tow.
It was mostly a boring lecture threatening families with dire punishments and a life gone awry if Little Bobby Joe didn’t start going to school every day. Situation seemingly had no bearing, as one family I talked to (mom and dad present) were there for the 4^th year in a row as their custody arrangement seemed to kick off the same «alerts» about truancy every year.
Anyway, we also got to see a presentation by Terrell, his sons and friends from Unleash The Brilliance.
A man who saw his own sons falling to inner-​city ails and out of school who helped them boot-​strap themselves into graduating and heading to college and careers started this organization.
They do music shows, skits, youth mentoring, presentations such as the one I sat through, offering fun, support, resources to at-​risk youth of all ages, creeds, locations.
I’ve since been following Terrell’s work and UTB on facebook in the year since and their success in connecting with kids, offering great resources, mentoring creative outlet through music, drama and performance with those in the program and schools they visit is very inspiring and wonderful to see.
I am still annoyed at the original tip-​off that brought them to my view (though it was corrected when I raised Holy Hell up the chain of command. Health/​medical issue doesn’t equal truancy!), I am glad to know about them and get to check out their progress.
As I continue in my other volunteer work through schools and my neighborhood, I hope to be able to work directly with Terrell in bringing UTB to more kids who could use the passion and support this organization has to offer.