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Community Corner

Brandon Jackson Charity Event Turns Tragedy to Triumph (Photos and Video)

"God uses even the most tragic things to bring life, to bring hope to a community, Death doesn't have the last word." --Debra Williams, director of Children, Youth, and Family Ministries at First Presbyterian Church, Altadena

When a young man who is working hard to stay on the right path is gunned down in cold blood, the community can react with violence or it can react with hope. 

The West Altadena community, in the wake of the on Feb. 12, came together in peace and hope to create a safer and brighter future for its youth.

Central to this effort has been , in conjunction with the Clergy Community Coalition.  The result was the First Annual Brandon Jackson Scholarship Basketball Shootout at on Saturday. 

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Ten teams played two games each, not for prizes, but to raise funds for scholarships.  The last two teams to compete were John Muir High School, because Brandon played football there, and Team Pasadena, the youth basketball team he played on.

Scholarships of $2,500 each were presented to from Muir and Jared Norsworthy, who spent his last year of school at Flintridge Prep, on behalf of First Presbyterian Church of Altadena and the Jackson family. 

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Destiny will be going to University of California Berkeley and Jared, whose grandmother Camille Hayes accepted the award, is already at Howard University.

The Presbyterian church became involved in the lives of Brandon’s family when they were looking for a place to hold a memorial service.  Some churches were too small, and some feared  gang retaliation.  The family asked Brandon’s AAU coach, Dave Williams, a deacon at , if the service could be held there.

About 400 Attendees

Pastor Mark Buchanan took it to Session, the governing body of the church, and the elders agreed to open the church to the family.  Buchanan estimated that 400 people came, many of them from Muir.  “We were able to provide a place for people to grieve and share,” the pastor said.

In his eulogy, Buchanan challenged the youth to “step out of the darkness into the light.”  To choose life, as Moses urged the people in Deuteronomy 30:19.

“Eighty-six kids stepped into the light,” Buchanan said.  Brenden Jackson, Brandon’s twin, was one of them.  About 50 of those continue to stay in touch with the other and mentors from the church through Facebook and a dinner at the church to help confirm their commitment.

The tournament was the brainchild of Dave Williams, his wife Debra said.  “He was so broken when Brandon was killed” and wanted to do something that would be positive to help the broader community in its grief and remember Brandon.

“All of us as a community of Christ have got to stop doing a holy huddle,” Debra stated.

The church, which sits next door to and close to and Muir, gave seed money, and with gifts from sponsors, raffle tickets, entry fees and $2,500 from Magic Johnson, First Presbyterian was able to give $5,000 in scholarships. 

The Clergy Community Coalition would like to see the tournament expanded in future years, with more emphasis on elementary school children.  The focus would be on building relationships with the students, with “Step into the Light” events such as barbecues.

Ben Pech, at the T-shirt and raffle ticket table, said, “It’s been inspiring for a lot of us.  It causes you to say, ‘This is what church is supposed to be.’”

When it came time to award the scholarships, Debra said to the winners, “This is an affirmation that you will make a difference in this world.”

Destiny Iwuoma seems well on his way to making a difference.  A summer in the UCLA VIP Scholars introduced him to education as a career, and he started Freshman Focus.  He explained, “Seniors mentor freshmen coming in fresh out of middle school.  They advise them on how to be a success in high school.”

He will be majoring in legal studies and minoring in education at Berkeley, with the goal of coming back to Pasadena and helping to close the education gap.  He played football and track and was on ASB for his entire Muir career and was in the Puente program.

In presenting the award for Jared Norsworthy, Elder Dorothy Kirkland said that the first thing Jared put on his application for the scholarship was “I am a teammate of Brandon Jackson.”  It is Jared’s dream to create housing for people who are struggling. 

Debra Williams summed up the spirit that surrounded the event when she said, “I think the great thing about this is when you see all the people in the community saying, ‘I will support this, I will be a part of it.’  It does my heart good because I know people are willing to invest in the community.  I think that is what will break the cycle of violence.”

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