Memorial hike honors founder
A local program that’s introducing inner-city children to the outdoors will hold a memorial hike for the program’s co-founder as it looks to transition out of the pilot stage and toward its future.
The group will meet Saturday at 11 a.m. at Pot Point Cabin on River Canyon Road, with the hike concluding at approximately 3 p.m. Bridge Chattanooga co-directors Clark Brewer (who is also the co-founder) and Melissa Fitzpatrick will provide an update on the program and inform attendees how they can help the program in the future. The hike is open to the public.
Bridge Chattanooga is an after-school program currently for sixth-grade boys at Dalewood Middle School. The program aims to immerse the boys in nature and make an impact on their daily lives while teaching them to be positive citizens.
“This is a great experience,” Dalewood student Darrell Jackson said. “I thought, ‘How can I stay out of trouble?’ And I think Bridge is going to keep me from doing things that other people are doing like robbing people and stealing. I think Bridge is a great program. I like to tell my friends about how they should come see this and see how much stronger we are because of it.”
The event is being held to honor the 27th birthday of program co-founder Ryan Keller. Keller committed suicide at his Chattanooga home in August 2017.
“I thought, ‘How can I stay out of trouble?’ And I think Bridge is going to keep me from doing things ... like ... stealing.” – DARRELL JACKSON, DALEWOOD MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENT
Keller moved to the city from Memphis after high school to attend the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. He immediately fell in love with the area and all its surroundings, his mother, Grace McLaren, said.
He decided to stay in Chattanooga after school to continue helping the community. When it came time to find somewhere to live, he searched for the area with highest crime.
“If I want to bring about change, I have to be in the middle of where it’s needed,” he told his mother.
His home became a safe haven for the neighborhood, she said, and he lived by the teachings of the Gospel of Matthew: embodying God’s command to feed the hungry, provide for the sick, visit those in prison and house those who need a place to stay, his mother said.
Keller spent his time and energy helping others. His home belonged as much to his neighbors as himself, and looking back, McLaren doesn’t believe he took proper care of his mental health.
“It was almost like he gave his soul away. When I hear all of the stories of all of the things that a young boy at 26 years old had done, it’s just incomprehensible,” she said.
It was out of Keller’s generosity that Bridge Chattanooga was founded.
The program was sponsored by Tennessee River Gorge Trust and First Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Brainerd.
“He wanted to do something meaningful,” McLaren said. “He wanted to start a nature program designed to help inner-city kids in defusing the conflict potential that was there between them and among them and within them. He really wanted to help them find a level of peace I think can only come from nature and God.”
Keller, Brewer and their partners launched the pilot program at the beginning of 2017. The partners had enough resources for one group of no more than 12 students. The goal was to work for one year to immerse the students in the outdoors.
The groups want to continue the program next school year and plan on doing so. However, there will be some reorganization. The groups are planning to shift the day-to-day operations from TRGT to First Cumberland Presbyterian. The trust will continue to partner with the program and work to connect the boys to the outdoors.
“The river gorge trust is excited to continue being the outdoor partner,” TRGT Associate Director Sarah Quattrochi said. “We’re going to have the same trio of partners. We’re just reorganizing a bit. Bridge has provided a way for the church to organically connect with the community and the neighborhood in a new way. They understand the needs right outside their doors that these boys can help fulfill.”
Today is Quattrochi’s last day at the trust. She has taken a position at the church and will continue to help with the program.