Kai Greene goes the extra mile for at-risk youths
Lebron James and Maverick Carter’s UNINTERRUPTED platform promotes a tag line of more than an athlete. San Antonio FC defender Kai Greene has become much more than an athlete, taking that to another in his first year with San Antonio FC.
He is on the council for Partners for Youth/Volunteers in Probation. “Basically, our main goals are to both raise awareness and recruit more mentors to volunteer and be paired with a mentee and also we want to raise money for our organization,” Kai Greene told BGN. “A mentor is someone who acts as a positive role model for the “mentee” whether that’s teaching them the general right from wrong, taking them out to eat, engaging in sports, stimulating a positive conversation and overall being there for the “mentee.” The mentee is usually a troubled child that is on probation that is recommended a mentor to help get their life back on track.”
Kai Greene’s decision for this to be his cause outside of soccer comes from a natural ability. “I’ve always had a knack for working with kids whether that was tutoring or teaching them how to play a sport. It just came naturally,” he explained. “I like helping kids because I know what they need and I can relate. After joining RGV, I wanted to do more in my free time and really push myself to see what I can do to influence the community. That’s when I started to develop the mentality of influencing whatever community you’re a part of.
“So, I thought one day to look up a juvenile detention center. Something more challenging, yet more rewarding in my opinion. It’s a population that many can’t deal and I wanted that challenge. From there I mentored two kids, then hosting the soccer clinic, to then bringing three kids to see a home opener. I take great pride in that because when I first thought of those things, the chances of it being achieved were VERY slim given the strict state rules that are in place. But, I know stuff like that is what these kids need most. They need to get out and do things that they aren’t used to. It inspires them and gets them to change their ways for the better.”
When asked how he is usually received by the youths in the detention centers, Kai explained, “Well, they are either confused or curious about who I am or why do I want to help them. They don’t see too many people caring for them in their lives so they’re baffled as to why a complete stranger wants to suddenly care.”
“But for the most part, they relate to me because I’m young and I look young which is good because if it’s an older adult, they see them as another person they don’t know trying to tell them what to do.”
Despite still being young like he said, 26-year-old Kai Greene has big visions for his volunteering future. “My ultimate goal would be to create my own youth facility as a place for these youths to get away when they need to. Most kids can’t do homework in an unstable home. Most don’t know how to make money other than selling drugs. Many have never been on a college campus, let alone thought of college before. Many don’t eat as much as they should throughout the day. Many don’t have access to gyms or pools like they should. In my facility, I would try to solve all of that. A cafeteria, lounge area, basketball court, pool, computer room, office to meet with professionals, job workshops. Things like that would make a difference.”
If you are interested in donating or finding out more information about Kai’s current mission, you can click here.
