Martin M., 94, St. Louis, MO

Dr. Martin Luther Mathews, a resident of St. Louis, Missouri, had his wish to travel to Lakewood Church to see Joel Osteen preach granted, thanks to our headquarters chapter.  Mathews is a lifelong resident of St. Louis who has spent his years there mentoring and encouraging thousands of youth in the St. Louis Metropolitan area. More than fifty years ago, Matthews and Hubert “Dickey” Ballentine met at a St. Louis city park to talk about how they could help a group of schoolboys compete in a baseball league. In 1960, these two neighborhood coaches founded the Mathews-Dickey Boys’ Club to provide sports, arts, health and educational support to boys in the St. Louis area. Twenty years later, the club began welcoming girls and became the Mathews-Dickey Boys & Girls Club. In 1982, President Ronald Regan recognized the co-founders and declared the club to be a national model for how communities can come together to support the underserved. Today, this 501(c)(3) organization serves 3,000 youth directly and 10,000 indirectly each year and has served more than 2 million youth since inception.  Mathews continues to serve as Emeritus President, consulting with the club on a routine basis.   Now 94, Mathews had one wish: to visit Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas and meet Pastor Joel Osteen.  Thanks to many generous donors, Twilight Wish was able to make this special wish come true for this legendary humanitarian. Thanks also to the DoubleTree Houston Greenway Plaza for donating the rooms for their stay in Houston.