Fried and Cathy De Schouwer with Fallon and Antoine Jennings. PHOTO BY JOSHUA KODIS

Polite youngsters were the stars of the evening at the ninth annual Crossover Mission Gala, held this year at their Center for Academics and Excellence, a former packing plant transformed after a successful Home Court Advantage campaign.

Escorting guests into the impressive facility, the students happily shared how their lives are improving through athletic, academic and life-skills mentoring programs.

Founded by Antoine Jennings and Cathy De Schouwer in 2014, Crossover’s year-round programs focus on the intellectual, physical, mental and social development of underserved children.

“We now have 110 student athletes. Their academic achievements are remarkable, some are pretty good basketball players,” said Brad Lorimier, board president. “And the way they’ve responded to the support that the staff and volunteers have given them here is life altering.”

A demonstration featured the Crossover Mission Dribble Team, who wowed the crowd with their precision and teamwork.

“Isn’t this place amazing? I think it’s absolutely beautiful and it’s far, far bigger than I ever envisioned. So I want to say thank you all for helping to create that opportunity,” said Jennings.

“Growing up in this community, as a child, one of the things I always heard was, it’s either jail or hell; with the sheriff’s department being on 41st Street and then the graveyard being on 49th Street,” he said, calling Crossover, off 45th Street, a “gateway out.”

“We need to remember that we still have to create doors and opportunity for all of the kids that you see here today and all of the kids that will follow in their footsteps.”

He offered special thanks to De Schouwer, who introduced three Crossover spokespersons.

“This building is a dream come true for all of us,” said eighth-grader Avanti Jennings, one of 10 Crossover students at St. Edward’s School.

“We are breaking barriers for our brothers and sisters, we are role models for our community, and we are ready to do the hard work it takes to succeed in college, career and life.”

“My decision to join Crossover Academy has been one of the best decisions that I’ve made in regard to my education,” said eighth-grader Daniel Landeta, who joined in third grade. “For the first time in my life, I made the A-B honor roll.”

“I come to Crossover every day to maintain good grades and I am inspired to mentor the younger children here,” said James Brinkley, a Vero Beach High School junior whose GPA improved from a 1.2 to a 3.0 during his two years with Crossover.

Statistically, he said, Crossover has had 100 percent high school graduation rates the last four years, and a first-quarter GPA of 3.26, with 12 percent achieving a 4.0, and 44 percent making the A-B honor roll. Additionally, 36 made it onto school teams.

“These types of accomplishments do not happen by themselves. It takes the support of dedicated people who have a heart for kids like me. It also takes an awesome building, like this one, to train kids in athletics and academics, and it takes the will and passion of us kids to work hard for what we want in life, said Brinkley.

“Crossover is building this home for its family and it’s my home too. You have literally given us the keys to our new home.”

Photos by Joshua Kodis