WINNING & LOSING 6/11/2020

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So how many times have you played yourself out of a small blessing due to the fact you would not support something positive ?

Today we are proud to announce the names of the winners to our #Food4TheHood Contest , but first I would like to really ask you to think how many times have you scrolled past something you knew was positive , and perhaps needed ? In The Trap this is called playing yourself .

As a Social Justice Advocate , who seeks to improve the trajectory of life for those who were born in the margins , I see this alot , Poverty breeds contempt , & distrust . due to the high level of prededation in our communites .

So when The Creatives seek to CREATE & BUILD Programs to reach our community , there is a high level of APATHY , which in my opinion is generated by being disappointed so much from being let down by the people in their lives , be it , parents not parenting ,fake friends who only want what you have , or Cities , & who view thosed mired in poverty as the enemy , or National Leaders whose hypocrsy is on open display .

Then , their are those who don't understand why their lives are frought with All-American Ghetto Strife , over time they adopt the negative perception that has been imposed upon them by our CULTURE . Wilful Ignorance walks hand in hand with marginalization .

This Jaded perception , in our youth not only lends itself to distrust , but also an active disregard and all out dismissal of POSITIVE iniatives as just a scam . Worse yet , this prevalant pessimism can breed open contempt for anything that can benifet ,

NEGATIVITY .....BREEDS NEGATIVITY .

These cynical mind-states not only kill the VIBE , but undermine all POSITIVE efforts made to help our communities .

About 3 months ago , I wanted to launch the #Food4TheHood Contest , but as

I tried to think of what to do I wanted to balance the interest of our org. , with the interest of the community . In other words how do I keep www.iamkidculture.org afloat in the midst of a Global Pandemic & a world boiling over due to Racial Injustice .

So I CREATED This CONTEST , requesting video submissions by our youth on how to avoid the spread of COVID19 CORONA VIRUS , thinking that PEER TO PEER EDUCATION , is an organic method for youth to reach their friends .The GOAL was we would pick the top#10 videos and reward them with $75 dollars for groceries & $75 in #Kidculture MERCH .

Despite my record of successful Events ,

and speaking at prestigious Universities , I also understood my city is a city that does not support its own people , Rockford Illinois is one merciless municipality . I am also fully aware that our non for profit will go under by failing to tend to the bottom-line .

EVOLVE OR PERISH , EXCUSES ARE FOR LOSERS........

Personally , I abhor people who constantly make excuses for poor performances , even though my skills in grammar , edit , and working on websites is virtually non existent .

I had also made up my mind to learn and try to do an on-line event , & either succeed or fail by my own hand , instead of once again relying on paying people , who may or may not have our best interest in mind .

Despite my best efforts , we only recieved 5 video entries , I won't LAMENT , sure it stings to be fed lies , and excuses by scores of people who I needed . We didn't bring in the hundreds of entries , from which we were to choose the top 10 to give the cash & prizes to while accruing some great content of youth influencing their peers in a positive manner .

Now you may think that this contest was a failure because we didnt achieve all our objectives , but had you been there in the park as we wrote those checks out to our winners to meet our #Kidculture Comfort dog #Lola and tell their stories to Jim Haggerty from The Rock River Times , I was sure that there was great success in these small moments .

So iamkidculture.org wants to Thank our Winners ;

Zaniah Gray , Zabrina Gray , Isaiah Baker , Anthony Holliman , plus one .

As far as those who promised to support or submit a video , DON"T TRIP YOU PLAYED YOURSELF OUT OF A SMALL BLESSING . Despite what you may think , we're not going to chase after anyone to give them a little something , in this case abt $150 total value of our give away . Hopefully when our next contest drop you wont play yourself out by disregarding something positive so easily .

Patrick Pursley , Founder of I AM KID CULTURE .

email ; iamkidculture19@gmail.com

photo by Kristen Heinichen during speaking engagement at Boone Elementary Middle School , 2019. all rights reserved .