410 Forum — News
A Day In The Park
By Chesney Randolph
It’s been a long week for Anthony Gonzalas. He works full-time at King Soopers and goes to school in the evening at Aims Community College Monday through Friday. But the weekends are his. And he has spent nearly every Saturday for the past four years with kids from the Boys and Girls Club.
“They remind me of me. I used to be those kids, and I ended up in an ugly place,” Gonzalas said.
Gonzalas is a former Greeley gang member who wants kids to learn from his mistakes. After he left the gang and started going to school, he decided that he wanted to do more.
“He is a rare person and has a powerful message to share with our kids,” said Tim Paris, the director for the Boys and Girls Club in Greeley.
But Gonzalas does not agree. He says he is just doing what he feels like he should do.
“I do this because I think if I had someone at their age to tell me it’s OK not be like everyone else or make me feel like I was important, I would have never joined a gang,” Gonzalas said.
Gonzalas has volunteered nearly all of his free time at the Boys and Girls Club. At first he went to the after school programs, but once he started working-full time and going to school at night, that changed. He started planning activities for the kids on Saturdays. The activities have varied from a movie at the Cinemark Movie Theatre at the Greeley Mall to a dodge ball tournament at the Boys and Girls Club.
This Saturday delivered exceptionally warm weather for February and Gonzalas decided a day at Brentwood Park would be fun. He makes sure he is the first to arrive at 11 a.m. and patiently waits for the kids to join him. As soon as the kids see him they dash from their parents’ sides to hug their idol. Most of the kids are in elementary school, but over the years the kids started to bring their older siblings to meet this “cool” guy.
With 11 kids crowded around him, he pulls out a soccer ball from his red Nike gym bag. Immediately, the kids start calling out whose team they are on. An argument is sparked between three boys who want to be captain. But Gonzalas’s words are like the law to them. The moment he tells them to chill, the bickering ceases. The teams are finally made and the game begins. After an hour, the kids decide they want to play on the playground equipment for a while.
The rest of the afternoon is spent playing more soccer games and occasionally taking breaks to eat peanut butter and honey sandwiches and Cheetos that Gonzalas packed.
One little girl in particular has grown exceptionally close to Gonzalas over the years. Julia, age 8, is Gonzalas’s shadow from the moment she arrives until her older sister comes to pick her up. She is extremely shy around the other kids, but she opens up the moment Gonzalas asks her a question or gets her to join in the soccer game.
“Anthony is not my friend, he is my big brother. I want to be just like him when I get old,” Julia said.
By 4 p.m. it’s time for the kids to go back home. It’s a somber time for both the kids and Gonzalas. To them it seems as though time has flown by.
“I used to worry about them a lot the days I didn’t see them,” Gonzalas said. “I’d wonder if she really listened to me or if he was still having problems at home. It was rough at first, but I know these kids and I know they are going to go somewhere and it’s not going to be the path I took.”
The Boys & Girls Clubs of Weld County:
• The Boys and Girls Club of Weld County is located in two facilities in Greeley and two school based clubs (Milliken Elementary and Galeton Elementary).
• Anyone interested in volunteering is encouraged to call first to set up a meeting with director Tom Parisi.
• Painter Unit: 2400 W. Fourth St P0 Box 812 Phone: (970)-353-5190.
• Pawl Unit: 2400 First Ave. PO Box 812 Phone: (970)-353-1278.
• Mission Statement: "A safe place to learn and grow... Ongoing relationships with caring, adult professionals... Life-enhancing programs and character development experiences... Hope and opportunity."
• Club hours: 3-8 p.m. Monday-Friday.
• Call 970.353.1278 for more information.
Source: Boys and Girls of Weld County Web site.
