March 2007

By North Texas High School Sports Report

PLANO - For several Sundays during their season, the PSHS boy’s basketball team gets up early for some off court teambuilding sessions. JV Coach Phil Parlin hopes these experiences leave a lasting impression on his team members and their families. “Our team has been serving the community for the past 8 years,” relates Parlin. “With the support of Varsity Coach Tom Inman and the parents, we give our players the opportunity to put the word service into action, by helping others in need.”

But these experiences aren’t all fun and games. The team building sessions include lots of raking, yard work, and outdoor chores. The most recent recipient of this sweat equity has been CITY House, a local, nonprofit organization helping children, youth and families in crisis in Collin County. “Last year was the first year for the team to join us at the Teen Emergency Shelter”, shares Kathy Blank, Director of Outreach and Volunteer Services at CITY House.

“Coach Parlin and his team spent several hours on three Sundays helping with yard work and sharing a home cooked meal with the teens living at the shelter.”

Parents, team members and often other family member all join together for these projects. It could be raking and filling dozens of yard bags full of leaves to prepare them for curbside collection. Other work sessions include painting or other home chores necessary to keep the busy teen shelter running. But during each visit there is always time to socialize and visit with the teen residents over lunch.

This year, the team invited the residents from CITY House to cheer them to victory during one of their home games. Recreational outings like this are important opportunities for the youth from the shelter to enjoy typical outings in the community. And the connection with other teens that care can certainly provide much needed support during a difficult time in a teen’s life. “It was cool to watch the team play, and then get to hang out with them”, stated one teen resident. These outings are a welcome respite from the stresses that these teen face in their lives.

Parlin’s hope is that his team learns life–long lessons about the need to reach out to others in need in our own back door.

“My players ask why the teens have to live at the shelter and then they begin to realize that not everyone has the life they enjoy. They see there are youth in need right here in our community.”

And with team values that include giving back to the community, it is easy to see why the PSHS Boys Basketball Team are winners both on and off the court!

CITY House, founded in 1989, is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization serving youth in crisis and their families in Collin County and the surrounding counties. CITY House provides crisis intervention services to neglected, abused, homeless, abandoned, runaway and troubled youth and their families. All of the programs and services CITY House provides are available at no cost for the children, youth, and families we serve. Our programs: Emergency Teen Shelter is the only emergency youth shelter in Collin County for ages 10 to 17. The 15-bed shelter serves hundreds of area youth in crisis each year. Transitional Living Program provides housing and support for young adults, including those who are pregnant and parenting, 18 to 21 years old. CITY House Family Center offers crisis counseling to families to help resolve conflict that can lead to the youth running away and other unsafe behavior. My Friend’s House, will be a 20-bed, stateof-the-art facility, the first of its kind in Collin County, and will provide emergency shelter for children ranging from newborns to nine years old, who have been removed from their homes due to abuse, abandonment or neglect.