Be Thankful for Recreation Leader Who Gives Back to His Community

With news of a worsening recession and increasing unemployment, people might wonder what they have to be thankful for this holiday.

Armando Abrego. Be thankful for Armando Abrego and people like him, unsung heroes who want to make the world a little better before leaving it. Abrego, 26, grew up in a poor Pico Rivera neighborhood where many of his friends believed that joining a gang was the only way to get ahead.

Abrego joined the city’s recreation program instead--has been a part of it since age 5--becoming a counselor and doing for the young children what a few caring adults did for him. “They told me I was OK,” Abrego said. “As long as I tried, I was a winner. I tell the kids the same thing. Try your best and you’re a winner.”

On Tuesday, Abrego and the folks at the Pico Rivera Parks and Recreation Department will honor hundreds of children and their families at a free Thanksgiving Day turkey feast open to the public, an annual potluck dinner to pay tribute to the players in the city’s sports program.

About 600 people are expected to attend the dinners held in the city’s four parks. The city provides the turkey; the guests provide beverages, turkey trimmings, salads, bread and various side dishes.

In two years, the sports program has grown from 25 to 35 teams, with 400 children participating, said city representative Ralph Aranda. On Tuesday night, about 300 youths will get trophies. The most important awards go not to the best players, but to team members who show consistent sportsmanship in football, volleyball and volley tennis.

“We teach (the kids) to compete and feel good about themselves, but not to win at all costs,” Abrego said. “So they’re out there for themselves, having a good time.”

Abrego grew up in the neighborhood where he continues to work, with mostly first-generation Latino children being raised by single mothers. “Some people call this area a ghetto, but it’s not. It’s a community. Out here, kids have three options: they can stay locked inside the house, join a gang or go into sports.”

Lack of money prevents many from joining sports clubs such as Little League, and a lack of training keeps them off school teams. That is why the city sports program is so important, Abrego said. He speaks from his own experience.

“I was never the fastest or the biggest, but I always got to participate. Somebody always gave me that push and those three words: ‘Hey, you’re OK.’ ”

The self-confidence that Abrego developed in city sports helped him get through high school and college. He will finish at Cal Poly Pomona next month with a degree in recreation management, the first college graduate in his family, which emigrated from El Salvador.

“I give back what I got,” Abrego said. “I give (the kids) a hug and tell them, ‘Hey, you did all right.’ That’s what they want to hear. Not ‘What’s the score?’ ”

To attend the Thanksgiving Day feast, call the city and register to bring a side dish. Phone: (310) 801-4430. Dinner begins at 6 p.m. in the auditorium of four parks: Rio Hondo Park, 4632 Orange St.; Pico Park, 9520 Beverly Blvd.; Smith Park, 6016 Rosemead Blvd., and the Cultural Center, 8338 Orange Ave., serving Rivera Park, which is currently under construction.