St. Louis Center resident, Lee Chambers, is part of the team!
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Fall often brings with it the hometown feel of cooler weather, bon fires, harvest time, and those Friday night lights. Throughout the country, every town has many things to be proud of, and supporting sports programs is something many people enjoy. Watching a young family member kick the soccer ball into the goal for the first time, wrapping in a blanket to watch the local high school football games, sports are a bond that binds communities together.
Hometown team – State champions
St. Louis Center is proud to call Chelsea, MI our hometown. Chelsea is a tight knit community just outside of Ann Arbor that is proud of their heritage and families. High school sports, especially football, is something many in the community watch and support. This year the Chelsea, MI Football team competed all the way to the state finals at Ford Field, home of the Detroit Lions. Overcoming the challenges brought by the past couple of years, Chelsea persevered to bring home the Division 4 State Championship, winning the game 55/52 over Unity Christian.
Lee Joins The Team
This State Championship, the first for Chelsea since 1972, is important to so many in the Chelsea community, including St. Louis Center. While participating with a county work program at the Washington Street Education Center in Chelsea, Lee Chambers, SLC resident and football fanatic, would often visit the Chelsea High School football team during their practices. Lee introduced himself to Head Coach Joshua Lucas who subsequently offered him a position with the team as a water boy. According to Coach Lucas, “The team was all about it. They loved having him and embraced him as a part of the team.”
“The best part of doing this job has been meeting new people and making friends with the players, cheerleaders and members of the marching band.” – Lee Chambers
Given a team jersey, Lee joined the team members as they ran onto the field at home games. He was never far from the players coming off the field who were in need of a cold drink. He said, “The best part of doing this job has been meeting new people and making friends with the players, cheerleaders and members of the marching band.”
Lee proudly and enthusiastically recounted the highlights of each week’s game to his family at SLC and his mother, Lisa. Lisa is proud of her son saying, “Whatever Lee gets into, he gives it his all. If more people had the same spirit as Lee, the world would be a better place.”
Even though Coach Lucas has such a large group of teens on the team, he wanted to make the most of the experience for Lee too. Lee had somewhat of a leadership role amongst the water boys, and inclusion in the post season play-off games as well. Coach said, “We look forward to having him back next year.”
“Whatever Lee gets into, he gives it his all. If more people had the same spirit as Lee, the world would be a better place.” – Lisa, Lee’s mom
Lee’s fondness for the Chelsea players goes beyond just helping on the field, he sees them and their parents when they shop at Polly’s Country Market in Chelsea where Lee works part time. They recognize him and happily give him updates about their personal lives. Lee is not only a part of the Chelsea Football family, he is part of their extended families.
Our Hometowns: Communities of Greatness
The challenges of the last two years have meant that every community has had to reach deep into its reservoir of strength to overcome issues that had been unforeseen before the pandemic hit. Our local community remains strong, proud, and resilient. There are many inspiring stories of how the Chelsea community has embraced the residents of SLC. Below is a short list of just some of the local community groups that are contributing to St. Louis Center residents’ well-being this season. We encourage those in the Chelsea, MI area to take a moment to stop in and thank these establishment for their kindness!
- Chelsea Police Department Grows a Beard! Many members of the Chelsea Police Department contributed to St. Louis Center for the “privilege” of allowing their beards to grow in November!
- Culver’s Restaurant Chelsea MI Grand Opening – The brand new Culver’s Family Restaurant opening on December 13th on Main Street in Chelsea is sponsoring a tree of gifts for St. Louis Center residents!
- Ugly Dog Distillery – Long a supporter of St. Louis Center, Chelsea’s own Ugly Dog Distillery provided hand sanitizer to the Center through the pandemic, and, for the second year in a row, is setting up a giving tree to provide gifts for St. Louis Center residents!
Not from Chelsea? Please visit your neighboring shops and service providers too — we know that good-will abounds and you will find similar stories in your hometown. ‘Tis the season!
Read more Stories of #SLCresilience here!
79% of donations received go to the care of the Center’s residents.
According to the 2020 audit, St. Louis Center administrative and overhead expenses were only 21%, in line with well-managed nonprofit best practices. You can be confident that your donation to the Center is going to good use.
St. Louis Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, Federal Tax ID: 38-6038121
