We sometimes hear about “paying it forward,” or “giving back to the community.” A Macomb man is doing just that by using his lived experience to help guide the next generation.
A difficult upbringing
Jeremiah Newsum was raised in foster care on the south side of Chicago. He said it was not the best place to be.
“When I was growing up, I didn’t think I’d see 16. And that was the environment I was in,” he said, noting that drugs and gangs dominated his neighborhood.
His foster parents lived in poverty, and he said they adopted children just to collect the government stipend.
“And being raised in foster care was a completely different environment than seeing people who came from two-parent homes or seeing people with privileges that they didn’t even know what privilege is,” he said.
Newsum connected with his biological mother when he was 12. He resented her at first for giving him up, but over time came to understand why she was not in a position to raise him.
Turning it around
As they grew closer, his mother offered up some advice: nothing is more important than an education and earning a college degree.
Newsum applied to numerous schools. He said something about Western Illinois University spoke to him, so he ended up in Macomb.
Now age 23, Newsum is double majoring in biological medicine and forensic psychology with a minor in sociology. In addition to his studies at WIU, he’s also in the Army National Guard, and he runs his own business, Jr’s Garage.
As if all that does not keep him busy enough, Newsum believes it’s important to be engaged in the community.
His business will sponsor a Rocky dog statue and it has sponsored events for WU athletics and Big Brothers Big Sisters. He also serves as a big brother.
Newsum said he and his little have a few things in common. He said both were initially withdrawn, both are Black, and both have been in the foster care system.
“Things that he’s going through, I’ve definitely been through. I’ve lived it,” Newsum said.
“So him having that understanding that I understand where he’s coming from and him having somebody to understand him, it kind of just changed him.”
Newsum said his little went from being quiet and withdrawn to being outgoing and sociable.
Sarah Baca said that’s not surprising.
Big Brothers Big Sisters
Baca is Program Director of Big Brothers Big Sisters of McDonough and Warren counties.
She said surveys show that littles develop more self-confidence, improve their social skills, and do better in school after just one year in the program.
Baca added that mentors benefit too.
“You think that you’re going to change a child’s life or be a good mentor to them,” she said.
“What I found out being with my little for five years is that she has really changed me, has influenced me a be a better person.”
Baca says they ask bigs to commit to spend at least 12 months with their littles. But they’ve had matches -- like hers -- going on for much longer.
Bigs and littles typically get together two to four times a month.
“That could be at school for lunch or recess once a week, or you could take your child out in the community – a Western ball game, parks, out to eat, Heritage Days,” Baca said.
It could also involve teaching life skills to a youngster.
For example, Newsum taught his little how to change a tire, knowledge that could come in handy in a couple years -- his little is 14 years old.
Giving back
Newsum said Junior’s Garage is doing great, with profits and the number of customers increasing. His five-year plan calls for adding a few employees; right now, it’s a one-person operation.
And because he’s benefiting so much from the community, he feels he should give back.
“I like to give back what I get. Just getting involved makes a difference. Even if it’s something small, every difference is a difference,” he said, adding that being in Big Brothers, Big Sisters has made a difference – not only in his little, but in him.
“It’s definitely humbled me because it gave me a sense of, ‘Hey, this is where you come from too. Just as easily as you’ve gotten where you’ve gotten, it can all be taken away,’” he said.
“So give back when you can give back, do for others when you can do for others, and then it just comes around full circle.”
Newsum said he did not have anyone to guide him when he was a child. He said even his mother did a better job explaining what not to do rather than what he should do.
He saw lives lost to violence and addiction, and knew he wanted something better. He wanted to make something of himself.
He’s doing just that. And through Big Brothers Big Sisters, Jeremiah Newsum is also helping guide a young person to a better life.
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