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A Place To Go, A Place To Grow
Simple Things That Make a Difference for At-Risk Kids

by Lou Dantzler with Kathleen Felesina



      Lou Dantzler is a marvelous man, a true American hero who doesn't grandstand. In a time when Bill and Melinda Gates are crusading to overhaul the school system and Bill Cosby is raising a furor over African-American children's futures, this book needs to be shouted from the rooftops, as does Lou Dantzler's work, which received international acclaim from President George Bush Senior in the wake of the 1992 riots. The story of this club and its remarkable, brave founder is a must-read for every educator, parent, pastor/rabbi, or youth leader -in short, everyone who cares about at-risk kids.

In vivid, engaging, straightforward prose that's a blend of Dantzler's frank personality and co-author Kathleen Felesina's passion for kids and writing, A Place To Go, A Place To Grow tells the story of how a sharecropper's son born of a strong mom escaped a dead-end life and founded a remarkable organization, Challengers. It has rescued countless at-risk L.A. kids in South Central and Watts from gangs, drugs, teen pregnancy, early fatherhood, and the "South Central stare," which Dantzler describes poignantly. Dantzler shares his struggles as well as the support from parents, celebrities, entrepreneurs, politicians, and most of all, the kids themselves, especially Dantzler's children, who are now part of Challengers themselves.

I was especially delighted, (having met Kathleen Felesina and her sister, Challengers board member Laura Peterson, whose passion for kids is pivotal in Lou Dantzler's story) to watch an inspirational collaboration unfold among people who share a commitment to America's at-risk kids.

The Book

Rodale Books
May 2, 2006
Hardcover
1594864187
Nonfiction -- Autobiography
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Excerpt
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The Reviewer

Kristin Johnson
Reviewed 2006
NOTE: Reviewer and award-winning writer Kristin Johnson's books are Butterfly Wings: A Love Story, Christmas Cookies are for Giving, co-written with Mimi Cummins and Ordinary Miracles: My Incredible Spiritual, Artistic and Scientific Journey, co-written with Sir Rupert A.L. Perrin, M.D.
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