2011... The Year of Impact!!

The picture above is of our last rally at Havelock Middle School. This was an energized school under the great leadership of Mr. Wallace. In 2011, our mission and mandate will be to make an impact in the lives of young people in communities great and small. I am excited about starting our innovative goal setting tool, The G.O.A.L. Initiative.

The C.L. King Group in the next few weeks will partner with a major community center to enroll 75 youth in T.G.I. and help them identify, analyze, and gain exposure to their life goals. My philosophy is, if we can help connect the influence of the home, community, school, and church around the life of every student, and reveal the resources available to them, we can revolutionize an entire generation.

For $30.00 you can sponsor a youth to take part of the interactive and exciting G.O.A.L. Initiative, a five month goal setting course that I created. To become a sponsor of this of this program, please visit my website www.clkinggroup.com and click on the donate button to contribute via pay pal. Your sponsorship is vital to the success of these 75 youth. As a sponsor, your name and organization will be included in the The G.O.A.L. Initiative workbook as well as on our website.

You can also mail a check or money order payable to The C.L. King Group to P.O. Box 1260 Newport, NC 28570. Together, we can impact one life, one day at a time.

Thank you in advance for your commitment.

C.L. King

Impacting 1 life 1 day at a time

We have been so busy circumnavigating Eastern NC on our quest to impact a generation of young people... I forgot I had a Blog Spot account:-)
From Kinston to the coast we have literaly reached thousands of kids with the message of making good life choices. You will be able to tell by our pictures that our mission and purpose is all about the young people. No month has been slow:

Tucker Creek Middle School
Havelock High School
Craven Community College
Kinston Community Center
Multiple Boys and Girls CLub visits
Television, Radio, and Newspaper interviews
Men's conferences
Youth conferences
Bullying summits
Gang workshops
And much much more!

The National Night Out

This was a wonderful night!
I was very privileged to to speak to many families and city leaders about our desire to be a resource of advocacy for youth all across this nation.
We were honored to have support from Miss Holly’s Sweet Shop in Newport NC, Smithfield’sChicken in Havelock NC, Triple J Printing in Jacksonville NC, and Chick-fil-A in Morehead City.
All of the owners of these wonderful businesses have committed to helping the C.L. King Group make a positive impact with the young people in eastern NC. Additionally, I would like to thank the scores of friends that helped me organize, hand out flyers, make phone calls and mail letters. I would like to thank Jeremy B. and Charity W. for their professional and captivating photography work.


I would like to personally and exclusively thank my wonderful wife and children for giving countless hours of their time and energy to help me with this quest of reaching the youth of America. But we cannot rest here, Our work has just begun! I am looking forward to reaching thousands of young people this coming school year with the message that they can make positive choices in life, and also I will be introducing our exciting career focus tool called the Goal Initiative!
CLK

CL King to speak at 2010 National Night Out in Havelock NC

I am looking forward with great anticipation to joining with thousands of parents, young people, and community leaders in the city of Havelock, NC for the 2010 National Night Out! This event is a trememdous oppotunity for the community and law enforcement agencies to join together and take a stand against crime.

I was honored to be selected as the featured speaker for this night, and this will no no doubt give us one more opportunity to demonstrate the commitment of the CL King Group to the next generation. My plan is to challenge parents to continually be engaged in the activities of their children, and to direct them away from destructive behaviors.

For the young people, I want them to know we recognize the challenges of peer pressure, the compelling pull of making fast money illegally, and the pace by which their world revolves. But I will also inspire them to look at all of the positive choices 2010 has to offer, the benefits of a life absent of crime, and how to set and achieve their goals! I encourage you to make plans to attend this historic event becuase this will not be just another "Night out"!

CLK

C.L. King partners with Miss Holly's Sweet Shoppe!

WOW! Recently the C.L. King Group joined forces with Miss Holly's Sweet Shoppe to encourage kids throughout eastern North Carolina to make good life choices. Miss Holly is the owner of a spectacular ice cream shoppe located in the heart of Newport NC. But in addition to serving up sweet treats to the community, Miss Holly wants to see the young people in Newport be sucessful at home, in school, and in their community. She recognizes there are many negative influences competing for the attention of our children and teenagers, and she refuses to sit back and do nothing.

Last week at a community event, I awarded 5 children certificates for free scoops of icecream at Miss Holly's shoppe. We want to give the kids a positive place to go that is safe and uplifting... you and your family can find such a place at Miss Holly's Sweet Shop.

Keep Choosing!

CLK

CL King helps fight drug use!

I just conducted another choice rally at an outstanding school in Carteret County! The focus was on the power of choice they have this summer...and one of the choices will be drugs. As much as we may not want to admit it, drug users and dealers are in our area and will be tempting our kids to use them. We must tell our kids that there is another option...they can choose to say no!

The Honor of a Son!

On Mother's Day I had the duty of informing my 16 year old son that his biological father passed away after a long struggle with some medical challenges. Cameron has honored his father in one of the most noble displays of respect I have ever seen.

Cameron has been fearcely maticulous in preserving all of the articles that were important to his dad, from childhood pictures to his favorite fishing lure. This has been a hard few weeks for our family and especially for our son. He displayed the unique character and dignity of a generation prior to his, as he preserves his dad's legacy.

There is no text book for how to handle these types of situations, but this young man through his actions, has written an indellible chapter about how children should honor their parents that will be remembered for generations.

Helping Eastern North Carolina

What a tremendous month! To kick this month off, I was priviledged to conduct a "Choice Rally" at Newport Elemetary with nearly 200 students. This high energy event focused on the power each student has to make life the choices that matter.

And then just yesterday I teamed up with the New Bern Police Deparment and provided a 4 hour workshop at the Eastern Carolina Youth Council's 7th Annual Youth Summit. I am still amazed at the magnitude of this event and how many lives we were able to impact. I discussed the serious dangers of joining a street gang, the gauranteed outcomes of gang life, and the positive life alternatives that are at the disposal of everyone!

"The Choice is Theirs" is rapidly moving from a quaint little phrase to an impacting motivational tool that stirs the hearts of all who hear it! This Friday I will be a Croatan High School to deliver another thought provoking, life changing "Choice Rally" hope to see you there! CLK

A New Cake Recipe

Wow! What an amazing Easter! We are gearing up for some big end of the year events throughout Eastern North Carolina. One highlight of my Easter weekend was when my 16 year old son wanted to bake a cake for the family the night before Easter.

First thing he did was he started baking the cake late around 10:30p.m.

The next thing he did was correctly put the cake batter in the oven at 350 degrees.

The last thing my dear son did was lay down for a quick nap...

All he remembers is me hitting him in the head with a pillow to get him up at around 5:30a.m. the following morning. I think his cake was more than ready.

His actions could have easily burnt the house down, and killed us all... but instead we were all able to laugh the next morning. This was the most important ingredient in the whole recipe...laughter.

CLK

Dance with her... the music is still playing

Dads, Moms... Dance with your children while the music is still playing. One day, the music simply stops.

One day it becomes uncool to hug in public, or to show affection around their friends. I still do not know why this is... And perhaps maybe I will never know. But I do realize that everytime you hear the music... Dont be so busy getting a job or education, or being a great provider or a community leader that you leave your child to dance alone...One day...sooner than we all want...the music stops.

CLKing

How to make a memory

Many times what our kids want is for someone to simply spend time with them.

This past week I had the wonderful opportunity to make a pine wood derby car with

my little cub scout. It was an amazing time! We worked "together" to cut that block

of wood into a fast race car...Even though I am not savvy with tools or

construction, the memory my little scout will have of these moments will be

indelibly etched in his mind.

His car never took first place... But the moments with dad did.

5 Points of Connection

This has been a very active month to say the least. This past weekend I participated in a roundtable discussion for community leaders that focused on strengthening the local community. I was honored to be in the room with distinguished leaders such as Representative William L. Wainwright, Congressman G.K. Butterfield, Aldermen, City Council members and many others. When I took the microphone to speak, I told the assembly of the work that CL King Group is doing.

I let the leaders know of my desire and passion to put action with my words… consequently I have been speaking in schools and community centers across Eastern NC to challenge this next generation to take control of their life, and make good life choices.
Just today, we presented, "The Choice Is Theirs" to a wonderful group of K-5 students at Stepping Stones School. While there, I challenged these young minds to look past the years of Nintendo Wii and I Phone text messaging, and told them to look at what is on the horizon for them in the coming decade. At the conclusion of our presentation, students signed a “Choice Contract” that committed them to elevating their efforts towards success.

I look forward to revisiting these students in the coming weeks and stimulating more choice that is positive.
Next month I will be speaking with the Young Marines and their families about establishing a goal, nurturing it and completing it. I am excited about meeting with the Young Marines- Ooh Rah!

But... I recognize this mission is not a one-man show. My organization seeks to mobilize and connect the churches, schools, community leaders, parents and the children/young adults, to create a cycle of positive influence right within our own localities.
This effort will take my time and resources… and in order to GET this thing moving... I will continue to GIVE all that I have. In the coming weeks I will be presenting my vision to our local, state, and national elected officials in hopes that the CL King Group can devote 100% of our time to saving the next generation of choice makers!
Check out our website at www.clkinggroup.com

Prepare to JUMP!!!!

Jump!!!! Imagine flying up in plane to an altitude of 5 thousand feet and being told to jump out! That alone for me would be a crisis…But imagine you do jump~and as you are rushing towards the earth you realize…uhh…you forgot the parachute back at the base!

Life is a matter of preparation. Children depend upon us as leaders, parents, mentors and role models to prepare them for the various phases of life. But there comes a time, whether by development or even by tragedy that it will be their responsibility to prepare for the nuances of life. One day they will be in the plane all alone… will they prepare ahead of time for the big jump. We need to teach our children how to pack their own parachute… they will have to pull the chord one day all by themselves.

The C.L.King group, in cooperation with churches, communities, schools, and parents aims to show this next generation of God’s children that they can take a leap of faith into the limitless skies of life. Next week I will be speaking to another wonderful group kids and presenting “The Choice Is Theirs”. Perhaps a kid will go home choosing not to be afraid of the heights or the speeds of life… they will begin to make preparation… for the day when they decide to JUMP!

Our Kids Need Us!!!!!

Wow! I just met with a police detective and we spent over 2 hours discussing gang prevention in the community. Our purpose has never been clearer... our kids need us. But they need more than another motivational speech, more than another cute power point presentation filled with statistics, they need a wake up call! This journey that my foundation is embarking on is no small task. We need to unite the schools, community leaders, churches and homes to stop the downhill spiral of the loss of our children.

Parents need to be engaged, supportive and active in their kids lives. But they also need to set limits, maintain consistent standards, and be willing to show "tough love."

Communities need to raise awareness about the negative activities going on around them. City streets need to be taken back by the law abiding citizens, and no one should be afraid to walk around the block.

No one person can do it... I was reminded of this today. But one person can ignite a movement... a movement of choice.

-We CHOOSE to excel in school!
-We CHOOSE to eliminate gang influence on our kids!
-We CHOOSE to become active and impact our community!
-We CHOOSE to quit making excuses and make a difference!

Just like the young person in this picture, the only thing that can prevent success... is a little thing we all control... Our Choice!

Upcoming Events

I am so amazed by the doors the Lord is opening up for me to present
"The Choice... Is Theirs" to groups of many sizes all across the greater crystal coast. I want to catch everyone up on where I have been speaking, and when my next events will be.

February 2010- Broad Creek Middle School
March 2010- Stepping Stones
April 2010- Gang Prevention Summit
May 2010- Newport Elementary

"The Choice is Theirs" presentation focuses on:

-Presenting life consequences for negative choices
-Strategies for setting and achieving goals
-Teacher support
-Age appropriate behaviors
-How to survive and thrive
-Peer pressure
-The ease of making good choices
-and much more...

This presentation is a lively, engaging, reality check for any young person who may feel they have no other choice but to sell drugs, join a gang, or break the law. My wife and I believe that there is so much potential stored up in the life of a young person, we just need to help them release it!

Life is a Bull!

As a kid in growing up in the roughest parts of Cleveland, Ohio, I spent many of my formative years without the direct influence of my mother or father. The time that I did live with them, my life was a horrific collage of abuse, starvation, drug exposure, homelessness, and perversion. I was convinced by age 11 that I would never be anything in life but a failure. I felt as though I was fighting this battle of life all alone.

I have vivid memories of walking over the passed out body of my drunken mother as she partied away our only source of income; her welfare check. My father branding painful memories of beating me as if I were a grown man.

Living in the institutional setting of a group home at 12 years old, and subsequently a foster home by age 13, my life was destined to be a successive series of "NO's". As I began to listen more and more to the guiding voice of my loving foster parents, I soon began to realize that I could win at anything I chose to do and change the course of my own future.

While many of my foster brothers were choosing to pursue drug trafficking, I began to hang out at the church up the street. It was as if each year was a new blossoming opportunity for me; Music ministry, Inner-city children's ministry co-founder, and a trip to London, England to speak before 20,000 people during the Americans Day Parade. These once in a lifetime opportunities all happened before I was 19 years old because I simply made a choice.

I could have been a statistic, like many in today's society. I could have refused to take the bull by the horns and allow everyone else to capture all the possibilities life offered. Instead, I made a choice to run with bulls and produce a life worth living.

I have been side by side in the deepest trenches of life teaching young people. I have mentored children from toddlers to young adults; all from every stage and background of life. I have seen the biggest, baddest young men cry like babies and the toughest, coldest toddlers never shed a tear. It is my heart felt duty to make sure these young vibrant minds are not disqulaified from the oppportunities life has to offer.

From where I came from and what I chose to become, I stand on common ground, shoulder to shoulder with this next generation of decision makers and proclaim...The Choice is Theirs. It is my life's passion to help young people who feel as though all hope is lost to rise up, stand tall, be proud and make a choice and take the bull by the horns.

Reaching Out!

Throughout 2009 and into 2010 I have been compelled to do something to help this current generation of children and teenagers. Labels for kids have become as common as our next breath. I am concerned about what can be done to help students aside from isolating and medicating them. Who will be a voice among this generation and tell them to "take out a mirror?" Who will challenge them to choose the path that is not directed by video games, cell phones, and face book?

I have been blessed to speak to many students and staff over the years, but I have a more specific mission this year. If I can help one child or teenager who is struggling with life and finding little value in themselves realize they still have a choice... a choice to succeed...I will be fulfilled.

My message is simple: " This next generation can blame everyone else for their short-comings and failures or they can choose to change course...today!" The choice is theirs!