Grateful to the Dillon Henry Foundation.

by Christina Quarles.

Dillon Henry.

Seemingly only yesterday, I remember waking up at 5 a.m. to catch the school bus from South-Central L.A. to Pacific Palisades, California. (Unfortunately, the schools in my local neighborhood were under-resourced and my parents wanted me to have an equal opportunity to be prepared for college.) I remember rushing to stand in line at nutrition to buy the delicious chocolate-chip cookies, and then quickly going to Mrs. Capelli’s fourth-period journalism class. As The Tideline’s newspaper opinion editor, I would read and re-read articles. My day would end with drama/theatre practice with Ms. Iannessa and other thespian students. It was there I was fortunate enough to meet and befriend Dillon Henry. Although I was not his closest friend, we shared a common love for acting.

Dillon was incredibly charismatic and lit up the room with his vibrant smile. On July 6, 2007, tragedy befell the Henry family when Dillon died in a car crash on Sunset Boulevard at age 17. This devastation shook his family and the Palisades community.

In honor of their son, his family created the Dillon Henry Foundation to share Dillon’s dream of making the world a better place through acts of compassion, charity and community building. The foundation has built and completed the Dillon Henry Community Health Clinic, which provides healthcare for impoverished areas throughout the Central African Republic. But the Henrys’ generosity does not stop there.

Dillon's friends paddle out for a memorial circle in the Pacific Ocean to honor their friend.

In 2008, the Dillon Henry Foundation chose a group of college-bound Palisades High seniors, and provided them with a $2,500 annually renewable scholarship. I was fortunate enough to be one of those seniors. In addition to the scholarship, the foundation helped me participate in international volunteer work in New Zealand in 2010. All told, they have provided me with $15,000 for my education. My family could not afford to send me to college nor pay for my travel abroad. So I am overwhelmed with gratitude, joy and humility.

Christina Quarles sitting on the Dillon Henry memorial bench at Pali High.

On June 17, I graduated from the University of California, Riverside with a bachelor’s degree in political science. The Dillon Henry Foundation certainly helped financially; however, their compassion and generosity has deeply touched me and shaped the core of what I believe, "To whom much is given, even much more is required of them."

I too hope that I can one day assist and have an impact on individuals, families and communities as the Henrys have, and continue to do. I am currently seeking work as a behavioral specialist in the Inland Empire while interning with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship at UC Riverside. I am also honored that I have become a board member of the Dillon Henry Foundation.

In light of this achievement, I realize that I stand on the shoulders of giants. My paternal grandmother, Carrie Quarles, through a marriage of 45 years, raised her 16 children living in South-Central L.A. She instilled the values of hard work, faith and endurance in her family, and one day dreamed that a future generation would excel in higher education. My maternal great-great grandmother, Martha Jane Blackburn, was the first African-American woman to graduate from Ohio University, in 1916. Her daughter, Jeane Burch, and granddaughter Linda B. Jones, were public school teachers in low-income communities. These women paved the way for me to succeed.

Lastly, the Dillon Henry family, despite losing a wonderfully talented son, never gave up on the power of hope and love. We are familiar with the African proverb that says, "It takes a village to raise a child." The Henry family is without question a part of my village, having helped to shape me into the young woman I am today. Thanks to their faithful generosity, in combination with the love and sacrifice of my family from generations past, I have the honor of calling myself a UCR alumna. I can proudly say that I am not the statistical product of my neighborhood, which is in a vicious cycle of oppression created by drugs, gang violence, teen pregnancy, a lack of resources and unequal public education opportunities.

I am the fulfillment of my all grandmother’s dreams. I am the continuation of Dillon Henry’s legacy. I am a dwarf, humbly standing upon the shoulders of giants.

About the Dillon Henry Foundation
The Dillon Henry Foundation is currently supporting 56 college students for financial aid, and is about to complete a Rape and Crisis Center in Chambucha Congo and a dorm for troubled teenage girls in Jaffa, Israel. The Foundation provides paid internships and supports the QUAD website for Surfrider Foundation, a protector of the environment. Support is also provided to CASA, an organization for foster youth in Los Angeles.

About Christina Quarles
Christina Quarles is a scholarship recipient of the Dillon Henry Foundation. She has recently graduated from the University of California, Riverside with a baccalaureate in Political Science Law/Society. Christina is currently interning with InterVarsity Christian fellowship at UCR and working as an after school teacher in low-income areas. She strongly believes that if given an equal opportunity, every child has the potential to succeed.