Thanks to you, Byron is more than halfway to Berklee

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Updated: January 23, 2012 10:51AM

This is a real Christmas Story.

Thanks to readers of this column, 18-year-old Byron Pickett has a shot at attending Berklee College of Music in Boston.

I told you about him on Sunday.

Byron is a talented musician and was an honor-roll student at Thornton Fractional South High School in Lansing when he graduated last year.

Although he received a total of $30,000 in scholarships, grants and other financial aid, his family was unable to come up with the additional $14,000 he needed.

So Byron was forced to postpone his enrollment until the spring semester of 2012.

Byron and his three brothers put together a band that performs at community events around town in an effort to scrape together the money needed to realize his dreams.

But he still was unable to bridge the funding gap.

Part of the reason for that is Byron’s parents are divorced and his mother, Debra Pickett, is out of work due to a work-related injury. As the oldest of four boys, Byron is what is often referred to as the “man of the house.”

Going away to college was not only an opportunity for Byron to obtain a degree; it was a chance for him to get from under an unfair burden.

After finding out about Byron, many of you reacted.

As of Wednesday afternoon, more than 60 people had either sent me a check or made a financial pledge to help Byron accomplish his goal. So far, I have received $7,965.00 in checks payable to Berklee College of Music on Byron’s behalf.

Dwayne Bryant, a well-known motivational speaker, has mentored Byron since elementary school. He agreed to work with me to raise money for Byron’s college fund. So far, people in the local business community have pledged $3,500.

Contributions are pouring in from all over the city and suburbs, in amounts that range from $10 to $1,000.

But what gave me goose bumps were the notes some donors enclosed:

“I am so happy to help you attend college and nourish your artistic talent. Make yourself proud!” said Therese A. Burns of Chicago.

“There must be more support for the good kids and families who do all the right things but end up thwarted by economics,” said Eleanor Weiss Zoub of Lincolnwood.

Most of the donors described themselves as not being wealthy.

For instance, Dorothy M. Peeler of Chicago said she is an 81-year-old woman living on a fixed income.

“I’ve got four children, grand, great and great-grand kids, and they are well and doing well,” Peeler said. “They don’t need any help. I just cried for this child, because mine have so much more than they need now. I want to share what little I have,” she said.

Peeler ended with a cautionary warning for those of us who have forgotten what it means to be in a place of need:

“Today you may be drinking the wine. Tomorrow you could be picking the grapes,” she said.

Victoria L. Gibbs of Chicago used Byron’s story as a teaching moment for her 14- and 16-year-old sons:

“Without any prodding, they both decided to eliminate some ‘wants’ from their Christmas list and donate the money to Byron,” Gibbs said.

Many of you gave what you could with the hope that others would step up. Just about every donor wrote something in a card for Byron that they wanted me to pass on.

“I wish that I could pay all that is needed,” wrote Millicent M. Porter. “Go Byron Go!!”

Byron represents the best in all of us. Despite his circumstances, he has chosen the right path. He could have been too proud to ask for help and sown seeds of bitterness — the same seeds that are growing in too many other young men.

If you want to help Byron, make your check or money order payable to Berklee College of Music and send it to me at the Chicago Sun-Times, 350 N. Orleans, Chicago, IL 60654.

We are almost there.