Buddy Baker

ABOUT THE PHOTOGRAPH:

“My name is Buddy Baker. I'm an employee of Third [Presbyterian’ Church Rec Center with UC. They have me come in on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and every now and then on Friday to help tutor the kids, mentor them— just be sort of that big brother slash leadership role in their lives.

I grew up with a single parent. All we had was my church. And we had a very close-knit community, it's another small city. We had to lean on our church a lot. I came to know really everyone at the church at the time, and grow really close ties with them. They helped my mom and I get through until she was able to finally stay on her feet. So for me to be able to come to East Westwood and kind of do that same thing, but for other families and for other kids, and to be in that leadership role that I needed when I was younger is a really nice thing. The ties that you make with your community, they'll never die as long as you keep them and manage them as best you can.”