April 6, 2018 at 1:53 p.m.
Family focuses on aiding those who are in need
The 13-year-old parishioner of Our Lady of the Assumption in Schenectady has collected food and clothing for Harlem's poor, and teaches Tae Kwon Do in Schenectady's Hamilton Hill.
Adam-Rey and his parents, Raul and Nancy, annually go to Harlem to assist a family friend in feeding the poor. In 1998, the family stood outside in 16-degree temperatures on New Year's Eve making ham sandwiches. In 1999, they traveled before Christmas to take food they had collected from Adam-Rey's peers in the religious education program.
Helping others
If the family sees people with needs other than hunger, they try to help, even giving the clothes off their backs."Adam-Rey said, 'Mom that lady looks cold. Can I give her my gloves?'" Mr. Gonzalez recalled.
Adam-Rey doesn't see helping others as being remarkable. "It's the same thing as Tae Kwon Do," he said. "You see people the same as you. You help because they are the same as you."
Black belt
A second-degree black belt, Adam-Rey teaches children and adults Tae Kwon Do at the Boys and Girls Club Craig Street Extension in Schenectady. His students represent a cross-section of the community, ranging in age from five-years-old to adults.Tae Kwon Do, he said, emphasizes respect for others. While Adam-Rey's students must respect his black belt, he must also be respectful to them. Originally, Adam-Rey was interested in the Korean martial art as a way to defend himself. Now he is interested for other reasons.
"I like being with other kids and socializing and helping," he said. "It's a good way to socialize, and to learn discipline and respect for others."
Similarities
While Adam-Rey has had his parents' support as he earned his black belt, some of those he teaches are on their own."We see five- or six-year-old kids walking home alone," Mr. Gonzalez said. "You wonder why they come back since there's no one pushing them. Test day is sad. You wonder, 'Where are the parents?'"
Although those in his class may have difficult personal lives, Adam-Rey doesn't notice. "When you're in class, you're all the same," he said.
That lesson is reinforced at home. "We've never stressed difference," Mrs. Gonzalez said.
Children of God
Mr. Gonzalez has tried to spread that message to Adam-Rey's peers while teaching social justice to the parish youth. Opening their eyes to the dangers of stereotyping is one of the first lessons in social justice."I was [called] a 'spic' for the longest time," Mr. Gonzalez said. "We talk about nerds, geeks, dumb blondes, the homeless. They're all still Jesus' children."
The family has seen the face of Jesus in those they feed in Harlem. Adam-Rey ran after one old man to let him know about the food. "He was lonely, hungry and cold," Adam-Rey said.
Sharing
Another man refused to take a handout. "There was a homeless man who said, 'I don't take charity,'" Mrs. Gonzalez said, "so he paid us two dollars."That two dollars went directly to another person in need named Samuel. "He asked, 'Is this American money?'" Adam-Rey said. "He hadn't seen American money."
According to Adam-Rey, other teenagers have the same desire to make a difference as he does. "We're not really bad," he said of youth. "We have to learn what to do and what not to do. Sometimes, we try things and we're seen as bad. When we do good things, some still think of us as terrible."
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