Mckrell

3/22/2016

"Both my parents were architects and worked from home, so they employed a woman named Lucille Hawkins from Whitehaven to help raise me. Years later when I was an adult, I wanted to figure out a way to give back to kids in the area she came from. My husband and I have owned an equestrian training and riding business for several years, so in 2013 we started the Lucille Hawkins Memorial Urban Equestrian Program (named in her honor) for any kid (age 10-18) who attends summer camp at the Whitehaven Community Center. We partner with the city of Memphis, and there’s no extra fee for the instruction. It’s just whatever the family already pays to send their child to camp. We don’t get any money from the city. We provide transportation, and the kids learn how to take care of the horses, how to keep them healthy, how to clean stables, how to ride, and how to get the horses ready for competition. It’s hard work, it’s demanding, and it takes a lot of patience, but for kids who do well and want to continue after the camp program, we provide them a lifetime of free year-round lessons (including transportation from Whitehaven to the stables and back). It’s not charity. It’s an opportunity. There will always be careers working with horses, and we want to help make those available to kids who really want them. Once kids find something that really motivates them, they develop the drive to succeed.

"I believe that when you’re excellent at something, you have to give back. You have to reach kids who are coming along behind, because otherwise there’s not going to be anyone to help you in your business later on. Everybody complains that the hardest thing about having a business is finding trustworthy, reliable people to work for you. If you give back and help younger people develop the skills they’re going to need, they’ll be prepared to step in and fill those roles. It’s a mutually beneficial effort. I love Memphis, and I especially love helping kids who may not have the same opportunities as those in other parts of the city."