NEW CUMBERLAND, Pa. — The relationship between the Link 4 Youth center in New Cumberland and the Harrisburg Cougars football team started last fall.
“For us, it’s building a bridge across the bridges; we really want to bring the two communities together," said Saundra Colello.
Colello is the founder and executive director of Link 4 Youth, which is an afterschool program that is hosting its first summer camp this year.
"We’ve worked to do at least one or two things a year," she continued. "Last year, we volunteered at the football games in the concession stand. They’re here for the summer camp and we’re going to volunteer again this fall. It’s just breaking down those walls, they don’t know that everybody is the same inside.”
“The games are incredible," smiled Link 4 Youth camper Tyler Caraballo.
Caraballo is going to be a ninth grader at Cedar Cliff and plays a handful of sports himself.
"I think they are doing really well, and I think this season they can pick it up," he said. "I think the experience being there is good.”
Cougars assistant coach Shawn Lee and six of his players accepted an invitation to meet and mingle with the kids at the camp.
“It’s really special, it gets the kids to look up to something, and maybe want to be like us one day," said Cougars junior Elias Coke. "It’s definitely a different feeling, because when you are younger, you always look up to older people, now they are looking up to you; it feels good that they are looking up to you and stuff.”
It's been a busy week of volunteering for the Cougars. Many of them helped at Micah Parsons' camp earlier in the week, and both experiences have made a positive impact.
“I was a younger kid, and I always looked up to the Harrisburg players when I was growing up," said Coach Lee. "It’s just one hand washing the other and the kids see that. They have to be careful what they are doing, knowing the impact they have on and off the field.”
”It made me feel like there’s hope still, hope in our community just to come back and help the kids," said Harrisburg junior Messiah Mickens. "They still look up to us, we’re still their role models, so for me to be able to do that is a blessing to me honestly.”
Link 4 Youth has an afterschool program four days a week, Monday through Thursday from 3 - 6 p.m.