Page 3 - FREEDOM TIMES VOL 1-1 CASON

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FOR YEARS THE CASONS HAVE OPERATED FROM A DERELICT BUILDING IN THE HOOD...
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DANIEL CASON MINISTRIES IS DETERMINED TO PROVIDE A NEW FACILITY FOR KIDS
Who would think, that one day, one of the world’s premiere concert pianists, would
move
to Bir-
ming-
ham and
open
a shop
in the
hood?
Did he
move
here to
establish
one of
Ameri-
ca’s most
pres-
tigious music schools? Did he come to Birmingham to line his pockets with the wealth that was rightfully his? No, none of the latter! Daniel Mario Cason III came to Birmingham to give his life to help little children living in the hood to see a better day... a better life!
Over the years, thousands of children lives have been ministered to here in Birmingham by the efforts of Daniel and his wife Gwendolyn.
Their ministry in The Hood has been far from easy. They have struggled, but they wouldn’t give up. Even operating for years out of a building that should have been con-
demned, they
wouldn’t throw in
the towel or give
up their vision.
But enough is
enough! The roof
is falling in! Wa-
ter pours in when
it rains! The truth
is repair is not an option for it is beyond repair!
But undeterred in this war zone, the Casons fight on for the souls of boys and girls and moms and dads. The Casons refuse to slow down or stop reaching out to kids who it seems no one wants to really help.
Daniel and Gwendolyn teach these children the difference between “right and wrong.”... they feed them when they’re hungry... they provide clothes for them when they are naked... they work tirelessly to help these forgotten kids rise up out of poverty... they guide them when their mothers who may be drug addicts don’t care where they are or fa- thers who they have never met.
Yes, Daniel and Gwendolyn stand tall in these children’s eyes because they are there for them when they are lonely and scared. When the kids believe no one cares if they live or die, Daniel and Gwendolyn are there for them.
The Casons know so well, that those tiny hands may one day inject drugs into their veins or throw a brick through the window of a police cruiser or grip a pis- tol as they rob a store killing the clerk.
Or, those little hands may one day hold a Bible, or reach down to lift someone up or stand for what has made America great, The Constitution and the Faith of our Fathers.
When it looks like growing up in the hood determines a child’s
destiny to live his or her life as
a loser. The good news is, this
vicious cycle of poverty and neglect is being broken be- cause the Casons are there for these children, sharing with them that he or she is loved and God has a beautiful plan for their lives!
The Casons are not
strangers to the wail of sirens
in their neighborhood, the
police making drug arrests
and entering homes searching for felons is a regular occurrence on their beat.
In the midst of it all, Dr. Cason (as it has an earned doctorate in music) and his wife Gwendolyn’s ministry to the throw- aways of Birmingham is also a regular occurrence.
The Casons are coming up on their 25th children’s’ workshop Thousand of kids have benefited from this yearly occurrence in Birmingham. Adults today who have their lives together stop the Casons on the street and ask, “Remember me? I was one of those kids you helped 15 years ago?”
No the Casons can’t remember every child in the thousands of kids they have poured their lives into over the years... but the kids, will never forget them for the
change they make in their lives.
And, now is time for a change of ven-
ue in the Cason’s outreach to kids here in Birmingham. It is time for this non-profit to have a new building so these kids can come to for help that has rooms that are usable. It’s a disgrace for a couple who has been faithfully reaching the unreached for so many years to be operating from a facility that should be condemn-
ed!The Casons do not have the money person-
ally to
do this.
They have invest- ed their all into touching the lives of these children. Daniel states, “My
goal is beyond
music. Music is what I do, but ultimately my goal is spiritual, that they will know Christ.”
Daniel knows first hand, what it means to grow up in the hood in Cleveland, Ohio, being just another little black kid who
it looked like would never amount to anything in life. Who would know at that time, that this little child would one day become one of the world’s premier concert pianists. No one knew he was destined to play for the presi- dent and the pope. As Daniel humbly puts it, “That’s no big deal, everyday I play for the King of kings!”
With fortune and fame within Daniel’s grasp, he
walked away from it all, to come to Bir- mingham in 1988 to help children in the hood to rise above their dismal surround- ings. Instead of receiving great finances for his gift, Daniel is giving free lessons and pianos to those kids who like Daniel will grasp a helping hand to lift them from their destitution.
Their non-profit foundation barely makes it from month to month.
The government has not stepped in to build the building. Though good people have given over the years to help keep the ministry afloat and the Casons appreciate everything everyone has done, it’s past time for those who call Birmingham home to unite together! It’s time we help the Casons build a facility that will enable the Casons to reach even more children who are on the edge. Yes, some of these children could one day become arsonists helping
to burn down Birmingham or, they could become builders taking Birmingham to the next level. Their future is now in our hands.
There is far too much to even begin to tell it all here. For additional information, visit Dr. Cason’s website at: www.danielcason. org. Or you can contact the Casons at: (305) ???-????. Mailing Address is: K.I.D.S. Inc. - P.O. Box 39090 - Birmingham, AL 35208
World magazine also has a good article on the Casons: https://world.wng.org/sites/ default/files/issues/world_jul092016.pdf.
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