Sometimes, the best gift our donors give to our kids is their example. Eddie Gamble, a former Mercy Home resident and Board of Regents member, as well as a retired U.S. Army veteran and state police officer, recently spoke with our young men about his life and experiences.

Eddie told our boys about growing up in Chicago’s notorious Cabrini Green public housing projects. He left home at 14 and spent two years living on the streets before coming to Mercy Home, where he found the support he needed to be successful.

With the guidance of a mentor, Gamble raised his grades and enrolled at De La Salle Institute, a historic South Side high school that has produced many of the city’s leaders throughout its 134-year history. Gamble made the honor roll, graduating with A’s and B’s. Though he never considered going to college, our coworkers encouraged him to apply. He attended the University of Illinois at Chicago and served in the U.S. Army for 20 years. After graduating from UIC with a degree in criminal justice, Gamble became an investigator at the Illinois Attorney General’s office. He recently retired from that job.

As the spring semester marches toward graduation for many of our young people, many of our kids are looking forward to the next steps in their education or careers. The talk from a successful and caring role model like Eddie Gamble was just what they needed to inspire them to keep working hard toward their goals.

Gamble discussed his life and the invaluable lessons he learned during his time at Mercy Home. He explained that he wanted to give back because of the support he received here.

“[Mercy Home] never deferred from anything they said they were going to do,” he said. “They helped me with my resume, they made a call to their network to say, ‘we have a young man that’s trying to get a job.’ They’ve always shown up for me.”

Gamble encouraged our young men to pursue their dreams and never give up, no matter what difficult circumstances they may face. One of the boys even said following the talk that he wants to be like Eddie.

Eddie Gamble is living proof that our kids have bright futures ahead of them. We are so thankful to him for sharing his story with our young men and supporting our mission so well.

Hear Eddie Gamble tell his story in his own words.

Gamble was recently interviewed along with Mercy Home President Fr. Scott Donahue on Chicago’s WBBM Newsradio 780 & 105.9 FM for their “Difference Maker” segment.