PAL: Changing lives, setting new courses for local youth

Ashley Hunter
ECB Publishing, Inc.

When people hear of the Police Athletic League (PAL), they think of the organization's reputation for sports and boxing. Historically, the PAL organization has been a place for children around the United States to learn athletics from law enforcement officers.
Established over 70 years ago, the National PAL program seeks to prevent juvenile crime by providing youth with mentorship, athletic opportunities, recreational activities, enrichment programs and adult guidance.
Locally, Monticello's own PAL program is fairly new to the community, and is still attempting to get a firm footing in the community.
Supported by both the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office (JCSO) and the Monticello Police Department (MPD), the local PAL chapter has been providing after-school mentorship, basketball, ping pong and other activities to Jefferson County's kids.
Located in the old Jefferson High School Gym on South Water Street, Monticello PAL has been giving local youth something to do during the after-school hours when most youth are left without oversight – a time when, according to Jefferson County Sheriff Mac McNeill, bad influence and negative choices can creep into a young person's life.
Most people in Jefferson County understand the lack of programs and activities that are offered for children after school, and Sheriff McNeill advises that when children are left with no oversight and nothing productive to do, they find a way to stay busy, even if that means getting into trouble.
“If we don't give these kids something to do, they will find something to do,” says Sheriff McNeill.
Right next door to the Jefferson County R.J. Bailar Public Library, the PAL location is perfect, says PAL Organizer Joy Frisby.
The library parking lot is a place where many kids congregate or are dropped off after school, and the PAL's doors are open to them.
“With the right funding and support, this place will be fantastic,” said Sheriff McNeill, eluding to one of the organizations biggest needs.
The PAL location in the old gym is perfect, but is still in dire need of repair.
The gym was abandoned for years, which allowed much of the building to fall into ruin.
Behind dusty, derelict bleachers stands an ode to the Jefferson County Tiger glory days: A massive wall-to-wall mural depicting a crouching, snarling Tiger surrounded by jungle foliage. While the mural itself seems to be in good condition, the wall is filthy and in desperate need of a good clean.
Merry Ann Frisby, wife to one of Monticello's former Chief of Police and an active community leader herself, proudly shows off a small corner of the wall that has been cleaned – the paint underneath is clean and vivid.
While the wall only needs a good scrub, Merry Ann Frisby notes that the lack of volunteers to dedicate time to cleaning it is an issue that is reflected throughout the majority of the PAL's problems; without volunteers, there is no time to clean and repair the gym or rejuvenate the long-empty premises.
Frisby emphasized the need for volunteers, as well as financial support and supply donations.
“We want to help kids, but we also want to be able to provide services for them,” adds Chuck Collins, a local attorney, PAL organizer and son of Florida boxing champion David Collins.
As it stands, PAL needs financial support from the local community almost as desperately as they need volunteers to clean, interact with the youth and make repairs.
Without financial support, PAL is limited in what they can do for the kids; without volunteers, PAL is limited in how many days their facility is open.
Right now, the Monticello PAL chapter has a boxing program and the gym has stations for homework, tables for ping-pong, hoops for basketball and a nearby outdoor sports complex for track and field – but they want to do more.
“This whole thing is run by donations. When the donations dry up, then there is nothing we can do here,” says Sheriff McNeill. “Every dollar that comes in here, it stays here.”
None of the volunteers take home salaries – and all of the donations are used in supporting the PAL's restoration process and provision of programs.
As the program continues to grow, however, the PAL organizers look excitedly towards the future.
“It will change a lot of lives,” adds Sheriff McNeill.
The next couple years, as the kids, parents and the community as a whole becomes more invested in the PAL program, Collins and Sheriff McNeill say they are looking forward to seeing the good things will happen in the lives of young Jefferson County citizens.
“Its going to change a lot of these kids' directions,” Sheriff McNeill interjects.
The PAL program does not discriminate between which children can or cannot participate - “everybody is welcome,” adds Joy Frisby.
While there are fees that are involved in youth attendance, Collins is quick to add that the PAL program is prepared to work with parents on finding ways to work out a mutual agreement that benefits both the families and the non-profit organization.
There is a $40-per-year (per child) fee that covers the PAL supervision at the gym, pays the gym's electrical bill and utilities costs and also goes towards funding gym improvements and program expansion.
For youth who want to become involved in the boxing program that PAL is so well known for, there is an additional $75-per-year (per child) fee that covers registration fees with Boxing USA (required by PAL National), insurance costs and allows the child to attend boxing matches across the state.
“If there is a hardship with these fees, we suggest parents contact us,” said Collins. “We don't want anyone to not participate because of a monetary issue. We want to work something out.”
For those eager to assist in directly supporting the local PAL group, Collins says that people, businesses and organizations can sponsor children who would like to participate in the program.
This frees families up from having to pay the financial cost of program enrollment, and allows the community to directly impact a young person's life.
Additional ways to support the program are:
•Volunteering time to either assist in renovations or provide child oversight during the PAL open hours.
•Donating building supplies or donating directly into the fund at Gulf Coast Lumber. Monticello PAL has opened an account at the local hardware store, so members of the community can visit the store and deposit funds into that account. The PAL organizers will be able to purchase paint, cleaning supplies and hardware which will go towards repairing the gym.
•Supporting a child with a PAL scholarship. By providing at least $40, community members can pay for a child to participate in PAL without parents having to bear the financial cost of enrollment.
For more information about the local PAL program and additional ways to become involved, contact the organization by emailing PALmonticelloflinc@ gmail.com or by visiting their Facebook page by searching for “Police Athletic League of Monticello Florida INC.”