BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) – Doing good feels good. That’s one of the lessons a person can take from the work of Rick Shaw and his colleagues with a pair of grassroots Bakersfield nonprofits — Play Thru It and SVS Cares.
The leadership team — Rick Shaw, Devon Sherman, Alexandria Vickers, and Fran Shivers — run a leadership and activities program out of a couple of leased warehouses in Bakersfield’s Eastchester district, next door to the restaurant Mexicali.
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They feed, clothe and inspire Bakersfield teens. They give them something to do after school. Build them up. Offer friendship and collegiality. Pray with them. Help them find jobs. Interact with businesses on their behalf, and when and if appropriate, juvenile probation.
Back in April, Shaw assumed the lease on a pair of 17th Street warehouses, scrubbed them clean, painted everything a nice consistent shade of black, and moved in a basketball backboard and pickleball nets. Then, promoted through word of mouth, opened their doors…