Greg introduced Nathan Oates with some interesting background information. That Nathan founded the Holland Oakes Rock Band, attended Wheaton College, has been Pastor of the Emmaus Church since 2004, and started the Foundry Youth Center in 2015. Nathan started by asking "who helped you get connected, supported you, valued you and helped you to see something about yourself that you didn't see?" He went on to say that Lincoln is a great place for kids to grow up but if no one helps you, growing up in Lincoln can be difficult. In 2015 the Foundry was located near the RR tracks. He could see teenagers hanging out there, throwing rocks at the trains, and smoking and doing drugs. For him this demonstrated the need for guidance and support for such kids. He gave a couple of stories of success with teens who were provided some opportunities for interaction with The Foundry and became better people. Julio: Julio would come to The Foundry and play video games and pool with the volunteers and employees. He was a "tough kid" addicted to drugs and nearly died several times. With time he gave these adults, the title of "mentoring him" and ultimately, he ended up being offered a job at a business one of his mentors owned. This BOD member saw ability in Julio, that with training, might turn into a good career for him. This is the kind of success story that The Foundry tries to provide. Nathan stressed that being offered the opportunity to have the Foundry program located at local schools, expands The Foundry's ability to meet, and support, more underserved teens.
