Volunteer Voices: Walt Crockett

Walt Crockett
CareerBridge mentor

Why do I volunteer? The youth. Oakland has a lot of needy youth. It’s paramount to help them out. The kids that I’ve seen come through [CareerBridge], in the short amount of time that I’ve known, have really grown. And I’d like to see more kids with that opportunity to come close to their potential-- their total potential-- rather than be swallowed up by the wrong element that’s here in Oakland. Without the help to close the gap, they’re not close enough. So having a group like Faith Network of the East Bay out there, give the kids hope that they can do better than where they’re at. Hanging out on the corner late at night is not a good thing. We have kids walking the streets late at night here where they should be at home studying or sleeping. There’s quite a bit of violence. Hanging out on the streets, even if you’re a good kid, could be the death of you. And it’s happening all over really, not just Oakland. I would think that having some sort of a direction, better than where they’re at, would give them more encouragement to stay in school, and to hang out with the right people, people who will steer them in the right direction.