Jubilee center featured on Oprah Winfrey network

The Jubilee Family Development Center got some worldwide recognition Wednesday in the form of a 90-second spot on the Oprah Winfrey Network.

The segment, under the Dollar General-sponsored Honoring Everyday Heroes program, spotlighted director Sterling Wilder and one of the centers success stories UVA student Sheldon Anderson.

Anderson kicks off the spot talking about a time when he was running from police on the streets of Lynchburg.

I could have outran them, but I just didnt run, cause I was tired of that in my life, he narrates, to a video of a car driving down a rainy road.

I called Sterling and he was like come to my house. You can stay here with me.

Wilder and Anderson split time in the video talking about the good the Jubilee Center has done and continues to do for the youth of Lynchburg.

Jubilee is a place where children and families can come and grow, Wilder says in the video.

Were that surrogate mother and father for those kids that dont have a place to go after school.

Wilder said Friday hes glad about the publicity and possible support the spotlight will bring to the center. More than that, he said, he hopes it will encourage others to volunteer in the lives of inner-city youth.

It just shows what happens when a community works together and rallies behind one another, he said.

Sheldon could have been in jail. Sheldon could have been bad. But by the community working together they can make a difference in the life of a child.

Wilder said the center was featured on a segment that also included Houston mega church pastor Joel Osteen and film producer Tyler Perry.

He said being associated with those names is humbling, and could prove to be a way to reach audiences that would otherwise not have paid attention to Lynchburg.

People from all over the country watching this show, may be inspired and say This happens in Lynchburg. Maybe it can happen in Roanoke. Or maybe it can happen in Houston, or Kalamazoo.

! In the v ideo, Anderson says he hopes his story can give confidence to youth trying to escape the pitfalls common to the inner-city.

These kids know where I come from. They know what I used to do. They can really be like He made it. It dont matter where he made it to. He made it out. You know? Because a lot of people dont do that around here.