RICHMOND, Ky. (LEX 18) — The HOOD Program, also known as the Home of Opportunities and Dreams, has three main pillars:
Youth mentoring, community support of at-risk families and youth, and the village of volunteers fundraising.
Each step in the HOOD Program is an accumulation of David Townsend's life experiences.
"The aha moment was kind of from that movie 'Field of Dreams,' if you build it, they will come," Townsend said.
Townsend built a program to educate at-risk youth and young adults.
"I found out about the ability to raise money doing concessions, so I got a couple kids to help me do concessions and one thing just led to another," Townsend noted.
Townsend has been a Madison Middle School teacher for the past four years. He continues to work as a Special Education teacher, and through the Hood program, he's raised close to $350,000 since it started back in 2014. He says he's attacked this with a servant's heart after 25 years of service in the Army.
"I entered the social work field. You have that burning desire to want to do more to try to help your community, to help the world," Townsend said.
Townsend shares the same passion for community service with a Director of HOOD who led trips overseas with kids from the program the past few years.
"We're in Central Kentucky and so seeing just the perspective beyond Richmond and Madison County provides so much experience for these kids," Amber Snell said.
Jeremy Cain-Hoover and Raysha Walker are reflecting on their time in Germany, Austria and Switzerland flipping through pages from a book of photos from the trip.
"Oh my gosh, that trip was amazing, and that was my first trip ever...first plane ride, first everything, and that changed my life forever. I see the world
differently," Walker said.
"It's definitely impacted my life seeing how America is different from other countries," Cain-Hoover added.
Serenity Allen and Rose Snell visited Paris and London.
"I'm ready to go somewhere else again. I'm ready to go travel the world," Rose Snell said.
"Everything about everywhere is unique and that's really what I like to experience," Allen noted.
The experience working concession stands at UK games helped raise money to build a group home for HOOD in Broadhead.
"Kids want somebody positive around them and they want something positive to do, and if you offer those things, they are willing to come back. If we can offer those things in their lives, than maybe it will take the place of some of those negative things that they don't need," Townsend said.
They get like skills and the bond created by Townsend, leaving a lasting impression.
Townsend's Program also continues to award scholarships while donating gifts and coats to children at Christmas.
