Did anybody watch 20/20 tonight?

[johnsju]

Did anybody catch it? I'm on the couch sick , so I have plenty of time to watch TV. The show profiled a handful of kids who live in Camden, NJ...it was a follow-up to a previous report, but I didn't see that one. I boo-hooed through pretty much the whole thing. My heart broke seeing these precious kids with so much potential and such big dreams basically up against a brick wall. Then I started thinking about all the kids in my area who might be in similar situations. I feel like I should do something, but I don't know what. At the very least, I guess I could love and encourage my students that much more and make sure they know how fortunate they are!

 

[de'anna]

20/20

I watched most of the program. I felt the same as you. I had to wipe my eyes several times. Seeing the reaction of the family who got the new house really did me in. I hope those boys make it! Little Ivan and his brother, too!
De'Anna

 

[usateach]

me too

Very sad show. I recently worked with a number of "inner city" children who were less fortunate, but obviously not as bad off as these children were. It was sad to listen to them talk about where they have to spend everyday of their lives! I am going to make sure to watch Extreme Makeover tomorrow. It also makes me wonder why we are fighting a war in another country when we have many problems here on our own land.

 

[SusaninNJ]

Camden

I live about 15 minutes from Camden. There aremany, many organizations that try to help. A friend of mine recently started volunteering at a school there. I hope to follow her lead when I retire. One excellent organization is a Catholic church called Sacred Heart. They have a school that is run entirely through donations. For $300 one can be a sponsor to an individual child and support his/her education. Incidently, few of the students are Catholic. This church also has a housing rehab program, a thrift store, a food distribution program and a clinic. In addition, the church music director is a singer at the MET in NYC. The site is www.sacredheartcamden.org. If you visit the site be sure to turn up the volume as the music is beautiful.

 

[linny22]

Nj

I live in NJ, although I missed this story, I am aware of the situation in Camden. It is especially sad when this story hits so close to home.

 

[teachnkids]

Camden, NJ

I used to live in NJ and worked in a private school in a town next to Camden. I had many families who were in real need of help. They couldn't play outside because of the danger in their neighborhood. I always wondered why the families chose to pay tuition for up to 3 kids instead of move to a better neighborhood and use public school