Rent-to-own News - Customer Saunders fights for "discarded boys"

Long-time BestWay Rent To Own customer Vivian Sanders is the "Realness of Bertie County." She is also APRO's 2011 Customer of the Year.

Her life's work is driven by a keen understanding that a society only harvests what it sows. That is why she has invested her life, and her retirement pension, into the mission of righting the course of African American boys in crisis.

Saunders keeps it "real" by facing the area's "real" problems as the executive director of The Hive -- an alternative charter school she founded in rural Bertie County, North Carolina -- and as the director of two community centers that provide everything from a food pantry to a computer lab, job training and drug counseling.

The Hive -- officially opened in 2009 in partnership with the Bertie County School System and One Economy -- was a natural extension of the youth program Saunders established at her community center where suspended students from the district were often sent.

"These boys have so much talent and potential that goes unrecognized and unfulfilled  because they have no outlet," Saunders said. "Many times the parents are incarcerated and the boys are on the road to being incarcerated because there aren't a whole lot of positive role models. We bring it all together and give them the tools to chart a different course."

The school enrolls around 50 at-risk 6th through 12th graders, providing them with a day-long safe haven and preparing them not only for graduation, but for the 21st century workforce through technical, life and study skills training. 

Saunders operates the school from dawn to dusk, cooking meals and providing after school and weekend instruction for the students and the wider community. Her plight is the subject of a soon to be released feature film produced by acclaimed director Robert Townsend entitled, The Discarded Boys.

In this rural community facing increasingly complex economic and educational challenges, where 46 percent of students who begin high school do not graduate and often turn to drugs, gangs and violence as a means of survival,Vivian Saunders is a ray of hope and a modern hero in Bertie County and and a shining example of America at its best.

But this spring, The Hive fell victim to state budget cuts -- the school's primary funding source. Saunders is paying the rent with her meager teacher's retirement fund and is scrambling to keep the after-school and summer program alive if only on a temporary basis.

"That (funding cuts) was devastating," she said. "The outlook is not good for these boys on the streets. For many of them, this is the only positive thing going in their lives."

The stakes are too high to not keep the school open, she said, noting a recent study that showed the juvenile crime rate declined last year in Bertie County while it went up in adjacent counties. She says the Hive is the reason.

"People say I'm crazy for pouring my retirement into this school, but if I can make a difference in just one life, if I keep one kid off crack, help one kid graduate from high school, then I've spent my life well," she said. "This area is suffering so bad, people don't understand how important places like this are."

Her goal is to contribute to the local area, and help it emerge as a renewed, competitive, and technology-rich community. Her life is characterized by a desire and ability to uplift and motivate others and her love and service to the people of Bertie County has no bounds.

"What she is doing for the community, it just sends chills up your spine," said BestWay owner Jonathan Rose. "There are a few angels out there among us, and she's one of them."

Saunders will continue to scramble for grants and sponsorships from the private sector to keep the Hive fully funded, and use her community centers -- one in Lewiston and one in Windsor -- to met the needs of struggling individuals and families. The food bank she runs feeds approximately 750 families each month.

She is a true believer that having access to information and being skilled in technology is the key resource to being successful in this economy.

Saunders serves as an engagement officer for her parent organization, One Economy --  a global non-profit organization that supplies digital technology like high speed Internet service to rural communities.

She's been shaking up traditional education and seeking to improve the lives of children since, inspired by her son's struggle with ADHD,  she became the first woman to own and operate a 24-hour day care facility in Bertie County from 1993-2009.

Saunders will receive $1,000 and will be formally recognized during The APRO Convention General Session in Little Rock this July. She said she will put the money toward keeping an after-school and summer program available at the Hive. Her nominator -- BestWay Ahoskie Store Manager Shane Brooks -- will receive a $500 prize for the winning nomination.

Saunder's vision is to open centers across the country for homeless African American boys based on the "Hive model." She plans to name the centers: "Vivian's Hope."

"It has always been a dream of mine to own and operate centers across the country for homeless African American boys," she said. "If you give these boys experiential learning, expose them to theatre and the arts, it can make a huge difference in their lives. It can be a turning point. I would provide everything they need in terms of food and shelter and would offer something that no dollar amount can give…the love and support of a mom."

Saunders is married to husband, Darrell, and the couple has two sons, Dennis and Devon.