Community reciprocates teen brothers’ selfless service and gives them a new home

• Lovonte and Jordon Adams are teenage boys from Raleigh, North Carolina.
• They both decided to serve their community during the pandemic by working at a COVID-19 lab testing facility, without pay.
• Moved by their selfless act, nonprofit organizations helped the homeless brothers acquire a temporary home for a year for free.

Lovonte and Jordon Adams are not your typical teenagers. In a time of uncertainty and fear, the teenage brothers decided to stand out and make a difference.

Lovonte, 15, and Jordon, 17, are fearless, selfless young boys living in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Since the pandemic, their county was greatly affected, and they both committed to do something about it. With no hesitation, both worked at a COVID-19 testing laboratory, without any pay, as a way of serving their community.

When Lovonte and Jordon started working at the Vero Diagnostics COVID-19 testing lab in Wake County, both not only enjoyed it but found real purpose in what they do.

“It’s helped me find new experiences [and] opened up doors for me,” Lovonte said. “You’re helping the community, you’re helping people.”

Little did anyone know that the brothers, despite their high spirits, have been dealing with their own personal problems, and life hasn’t been easy for them. Both of their parents lost their jobs, and they were left without a permanent home.

Diana Powell, who leads nonprofit organization Justice Served NC, teamed up with Vero Diagnostics to connect the brothers to the STEM Student CO-OiP Community Outreach, Opportunities and Innovation Project. Headed by Dr. Anita Jackson, the initiative helps students of color find opportunities to use science, technology, engineering, and math in service to their respective communities.

“It’s awesome to have them on the front lines and say, trust science. COVID is real, don’t take it lightly,” Diana explained.

Moved by the brothers’ selflessness despite their own personal turmoil, Diana knew she had to do something, especially that Lovonte and Jordon, and their family, will be homeless again in no time.

“They didn’t know where they are going to go,” she said. “They deserve more. They deserve better,” Diana said.

She then worked with Dr. Jackson and Vero Diagnostics to find a temporary shelter for the Adams family — a townhouse where the whole family can live for free for a year until they are able to recover financially.

“I don’t even know what to say, this is great,” Lovonte said. “It’s very overwhelming,” his brother Jordon added. According to their family, this is their first secured home in four long years.

“I’m really fortunate to have children like them,” Amber Adams, their mom, said. “And I’m very thankful and grateful to everyone. I was a bit jaded about humanity so this is very good timing — they’re so resilient and I appreciate their strength, they’re really good boys.”

The brothers hope to pursue careers in science and medicine in the future — continuing what they learned from this experience, and trusting that one day, others may benefit from the STEM CO-OiP, too! 

Source: Inspire More