BY EDWARD de la FUENTE
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Just past the top of the stairs inside the entrance to the LeBlond Boys and Girls Club in Over-the-Rhine is a wave of children, of all ages and heights, ready to overwhelm anybody who has just made their way up.
Donnel Kelly, 16, shown here at the LeBlond Boys and Girls Club, will be a ball boy at the World Cup in France.
(Steven M. Herppich photo)
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This is Donnell Kelly's world. This, outside of school, is the most important part of this 16-year-old's life. Everyone at the club knows it and respects him for it.
"What's up, Dante?" Donnell says to a small boy standing in a hallway as Donnell passes by. The two high-five, the child unable to suppress a smile.
Now that school is out, this is Donnell's day job. A member of the club since age 7, he spends the entire afternoon there. As a junior staff member, he watches over the younger members. As a participant in the club's Big Buddy program, he serves as a mentor to one of the club's children.
Donnell Kelly has been such an important part of this world that in two weeks, he will be rewarded with a trip halfway around the world. As one of six youths randomly selected in a nationwide contest, Donnell will participate as a ball boy during the World Cup soccer match between Chile and Cameroon on June 23 in Nantes, France. He leaves from Chicago with the other winners on June 20.
While Donnell plays soccer on occasion, he said the bigger thrill for him will be stepping on a plane for the first time in his life and getting the chance to see a foreign country.
"The experience of going to France, that's what's exciting to me," he said. "It's a once-in-a-lifetime dream."
Donnell, who just finished his freshman year at St. Xavier High School, was nominated for the Coca-Cola-sponsored contest by the Boys and Girls Club after earning the chapter's "Youth of the Year" award for the second straight year.
The determination that earned him that distinction also prevails at his Over-the-Rhine home, where he lives with his grandmother, Ellen Varner. Donnell's father lives in the Cincinnati area and visits him occasionally, while his mother resides in New York. "He's seen both the good and the bad of this area," Mrs. Varner
said.
"He chooses the good route. He's never out late. He goes to school, he goes to the club, and then he comes home."
"There are a lot of kids here who want to be just like him," said Sharon Montgomery, unit director at the LeBlond club. "They see that Donnell's going to a private school and they ask me how they can do that."
Donnell was bound for Hughes Alternative Center last fall when Amy Leroux, marketing manager for the Cincinnati Sports Medicine and Orthopedic Center and former president of the Board of Managers at the LeBlond club, found out about him.
Donnell had always wanted to follow another club member who had attended St. Xavier and went on to Vanderbilt University. "Donnell looked up to him," Miss Leroux said. "I had heard that he was very bright. I wanted to help him out."
Two weeks before the start of St. Xavier's academic year, Miss Leroux inquired about getting Donnell enrolled. Donnell passed the school's entrance exam with ease. Meanwhile, Miss Leroux found that asking people to help pay Donnell's tuition was surprisingly easy.
"I hardly had to ask," said Miss Leroux, the primary donor. "It was a neat thing to be a part of. People really want to help children in the inner city. They were so excited to be a part of it."
Once enrolled, Donnell didn't waste time making positive impressions. "He's quiet and unassuming, and he doesn't like attention," said Bill Sandquist, St. Xavier's assistant principal for academics. "He has his head screwed on wonderfully well."
"He's a very committed student," said John Ravenna, the school's director of community service and Donnell's ride to school each morning. "He's involved in our community service program and does an outstanding job. He always has his homework done and organized. He has incredibly high standards."
Donnell has been telling those around him that he wants to be a doctor. "I just want to help people," he said.
This attitude wasn't any more evident than one morning last November. While waiting for Mr. Ravenna to pick him up, he came across a dog attacking 8-year-old Danyel Jones. With the help of a still-unidentified passerby known only as Patrick, Donnell pulled the boy to safety. All sorts of accolades and awards were bestowed upon Donnell, who stayed modest throughout and chose instead to pass the hero's recognition on to Patrick.
"I just feel I helped him out," Donnell said. "There was somebody else, too. Patrick should have gotten more credit."
With all that Donnell has done, the trip to France is a fitting end to a special year.
"I couldn't believe it when I heard about it," Mrs. Varner said. "So many good things have been happening to him."
"He's done a lot for this club; he deserves to go," Miss Montgomery said. "We can't wait for him to come back and give us some souvenirs."
