Today we’d like to introduce you to Clarence Henderson III.
Hi Clarence, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Inner City Athletic Program (ICAP) is a 501c3 nonprofit organization founded in 2008. A project of my bachelor’s degree program at Springfield College’s campus in San Diego. I continued through earning my master’s degree. I grew up in south central Los Angeles and played sports ever since I was 4 years old. My first baseball glove was a brown paper bag I used to try to resemble my older brother. Eventually, sports kept me out of gangs and out of trouble. I first attended college at Southern University in Louisiana, where I played baseball but didn’t graduate due to bad habits. I later began working at a shelter for abused, neglected and abandoned children in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I also worked at group homes and institutions here in San Diego. It felt like I was made to work with unfortunate kids because I used to be one. I worked with this one kid who was 12 years old and weighed 350 pounds. He had sleep apnea, and every time he went to sleep, he would stop breathing and choke. I was truly concerned for his health. I built relationships with the kids, and they trusted me because they knew I cared about them. Kids know who cares and who is there for a paycheck. When I went back to college to earn my degree, I started Inner City Athletic Program as my school project. We previously owned a restaurant named Gellerosa Ranch Barbeque in downtown San Diego. I have a mailing list of former customers to whom I sold barbeque dinners in my driveway to earn the funds to start ICAP. I put sports together with foster youth’s health, and ICAP came together as a nonprofit working in the prevention of childhood obesity. We started conducting baseball, basketball, and softball clinics in partnership with various recreation centers in underserved communities. We provided free healthy lunches and health lessons. ICAP partners with many organizations and are recognized partners with Live Well San Diego. We began providing an eight-week summer program for youth 7 – 14. We set up an outdoor classroom. We first teach a wellness lesson, then provide structured physical activities. We teach the proper ways to stretch, then play sports games such as volleyball, softball, basketball, soccer, etc… Sometimes we jump rope or have sack races. At the end of each day, we provide a free raffle of prizes. High school students who volunteer earn community service credit for their schools. We saw a need to add a positive youth development aspect to our program. ICAP provides positive experiences for our youth and is totally free for all youth. We were finally able to partner with SAY San Diego’s Family Support Services to provide our services to elementary schools. Our Steppin Up program provides 2 ten-week sessions, one in the fall and one in the spring. We have a waiting list of kids wanting to participate in our program. We provide pre & post-surveys to see how much knowledge our kids retain. We also provide wellness lessons, such as nutrition, health education, coping & social skills, gang prevention, as well as others. We serve 4th & 5th-grade students of the Prime-Time program. The kids look forward to participating in Steppin Up. ICAP incorporates parent meetings once per month providing presentations and resources for families. A home-cooked meal is provided for all families in attendance. Inner City Athletic program shall continue its work in prevention of childhood obesity and positive youth development.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
One of the challenges that presented itself was in starting my project at Springfield College. I wanted initially to conduct a one-time baseball clinic in partnership with a church. I couldn’t believe that the church wanted money up front for me to do something free for their kids. That’s when I established Inner City Athletic Program as a nonprofit entity by selling BBQ dinners for the initial fees. Another challenge was that my dad had Alzheimer’s disease, and I had to help care for him and my mom while establishing ICAP. Sometimes, I had to take my dad to the VA Hospital when I had one parent in a wheelchair and the other in a walker. Those were tough times. My dad has since passed, and I continue to care for my mom at 90 years of age with dementia. It’s a blessing to still have her here. One challenge I experienced was in attempting to rent a gym at a recreation center that worried about men’s free play, instead of allowing ICAP a rental used to serve the children in the community a free basketball clinic. They finally rented it but did not support it. Other obstacles have been difficulties with transportation for kids to participate or parents’ hours working. Another struggle was trying to get established in schools. The SDUSD wanted 3 times the amount of insurance than any other entity, and we have a million-dollar policy. That was frustrating. The main struggle we’ve had and continue to be is funding each and every year no matter how well our outcomes are. Every year I have to write several grants just to try to continue of work serving underserved children in our community.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am the Chief Executive Officer/Founder of the Inner-City Athletic Program, established in 2008. I earned my bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Springfield College’s campus here in San Diego. I run the day-to-day operations of our program, write grants, oversee all operations of ICAP, paperwork, and communications, attend meetings, and manage schedules, supplies & equipment, licenses, and regulations. I have a passion for working with youth to see them progress in a positive healthy manner to become successful members of their communities. They call me Coach C, and I specialize in positive youth development and a passionate care for our kids, building self-confidence, self-esteem, self-worth, and self-awareness. I teach all of the lessons in our classroom during our summer program and conduct presentations to parents. I’m known for being a trusted person with integrity and a caring heart. I’m most proud of turning my life around, from being homeless and addicted to drugs to earning my master’s degree and serving my community’s youth and families. I’m also proud of the work I’ve done with thousands of youths during my career. Many times, you don’t know where the youth you’ve worked with have gone or how they’re doing now. On occasion, I receive a phone call or run into one of my kids, and they thank me for what I have taught them. It doesn’t get much better than that. I’ve mentored many youths as well. I mentor a youth that never played organized sports. Previously, he was a participant in our program, and now he plays baseball for Morse High School and makes good grades. I have a gift for communicating with kids, organizing, leadership, and the ability to sincerely care for others.
Any big plans?
I look forward to Inner City Athletic Program’s “Steppin Up Program” to be taught in many more elementary schools. Every elementary school needs a program like Steppin Up to expose our youth to other opportunities they may have, and not just what they experience or see in their neighborhoods. I’m looking to expand to other schools. All we need is the funding because we already have great outcomes. Our pre & post-surveys are analyzed by the evaluation specialist at the Public Health Institute at San Diego State University. Not only do we have great outcomes on paper, but we also have great outcomes with the socialization and positive mentalities of our youth through their self-confidence, self-esteem, and self-awareness.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.icapsd.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/icapsd
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clarence-henderson-iii-008307218/
