Tracie: “Everyone calls us the Wonder Twins. We aren’t from the same mother, but we’re sisters in every other way. We run The Ruff Wilson Youth Organization with after-school and summer programs in Daphne. ‘The Ruff’ started when the Boys and Girls Club pulled out of Baldwin County. The new program was named after Ruff Wilson, the son of one of the main contributors. I taught English at Daphne High School but became the director here in 2018, the year before I retired. I hired Sonya to help me. We’ve worked with kids all of our lives.

Sonya: When a student enters these doors, they are walking into our family with Ruff Rules. They say ‘yes ma’am’ and ‘excuse me,’ putting on their manners. They gather in the truth circle around Ruff Rabbit; we hear praise reports or who didn’t have a good day. They are honest because they know we already know the truth or will find out soon.  Principals call us when something happens with one of our kids. We are family and have spent years building relationships with our students. We discuss problems, find solutions, and end with prayer every day. There are some children who have never prayed or set foot in a church. But here they learn how to be thankful. At the Ruff, we’re all under God’s umbrella.” 

‘The Ruff’ is our ministry. If you don’t have people hands-on with the youth, then what do you have? The streets out here aren’t playing. We’ve had enough burials and have to do better. 

I tell the kids they are our next mayors, our principals, our business owners. They get it. Why can’t their parents and other adults see it?”

Tracie: “We are one of the lowest-cost childcare centers on the Eastern Shore. We pick up kids from the Daphne schools, making it easy on parents. We’ve seen a growth in attendance and academic achievement. We have about 37 students in the after school program–twenty are at honor status. The kids receive tutoring and get help from a few volunteers who are called Grandmothers of The Ruff. Kids love being in a structured environment and answering to someone.”

Sonya: “We care so much about these kids that sometimes the Ruff can get rough for us. In the beginning, I thought we were going to quit. We had kids during the day, then Sonya and I painted this whole building by ourselves until late at night, trying to make it look decent for the kids.  Both of us still pitch in everywhere. We are the janitorial staff, too. We leave every day tired and fulfilled.”

I wake up every morning saying, ‘Good morning, Jesus. Today is your day. I’m your child. Please show me the way. What is the next thing we have to do at The Ruff’?”

Tracie: “Working with kids is our ministry, our passion. This is our assignment until God tells us to do something else. But we know there is someone younger with bigger ideas who is going to take The Ruff higher and serve it better than we can. We will be ready for that, too.”

Sonya: “We are under the radar here, and that is how we like it. Who are we? The Ruff. What are we? Family. Putting kids first is all that matters.”

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How to help: The Ruff needs kid-friendly furniture, art supplies, and new flooring. They also need a math tutor who understands how math is taught in school today.

Bonus story

Tracie: “I moved here from Vicksburg in 1993 because of prayer and a job. I was a single mother. Sonya was a part of my son’s village and could see some things and step in where I couldn’t. My son, Hamilton, is graduating from West Point on December 20. Sonya and I will both be there.”

Sonya: “We’re all ready for him to be through. But most importantly, he’s ready. This is the first year the two of us will be off the week of Christmas. We don’t know how to take it. We are going to Hamilton’s graduation. My daughter, Amaya is coming back from Israel. She’s in the Navy, and we are proud of how quickly she ranked as a sailor. It’s rare for us to get away from The Ruff, but when we do, we go together. Just like sisters.”

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Tracie and Sonya’s story is part of The Weavers series. Stories about the people who stitch together the fabric of society while so many forces pull it apart. Who are the folks who make life a little better in your community? Send me their names and a little about them, and I’ll try to talk with them.

Lynn