a non-profit youth organization

Our Mission and Troy's Hope

Our mission is to change the violent choices the youth of today are making because of the tragedies that affect their lives. To share with them what the effects of losing someone has on other people's lives. To teach young people to stop blaming others, and learn that they are responsible for the choices they make! Tragedies are a part of our existence, but how we choose to deal with them is our responsibility. We must teach our young people how to deal with these issues. We want to help communities understand that we must all share the responsibility in healing by being there for our children when they need us. One dream, one hope and one person can fulfill Troyshope!

ABOUT THE FOUNDATION

The "Troy" Chavez Foundation was formed in 1993 after the violent death of our son Troy, who was sixteen when his life was robbed from him. The family did their best to seek justice for Troy, but nothing would be done for him. This was a tragedy of its own and very painful.

The family at this time knew how wrong this was and how he so misjudged because of where they lived and where the family was from. Everyone involved knew it was wrong but Troy would have no hero to stand up on his behalf. We wanted to show those who had incorrectly judged Troy and those who would never come to his defense that Troy was worth fighting for as many other children are as well.

We could have spent our lives fighting the judicial system, trying to seek justice for Troy, trying to remove the blindfolds from Lady Justice, however; instead we choose to seek out youth like Troy. Youth who want to have a good life for themselves, youth who want to make it in a world that refuses to give them a chance. We will put the faith in them that Troy had and look for the best part of them to bring out. Troy's family wants to continue Troy’s Hope and continue life through his eyes, believing in humanity and seeking out the best of all people because we know all our children are worth fighting for.

TROY!

Troy did his best to seek friends in all areas of Denver. He never limited himself to one area, nor did he judge anyone. His heart was very gentle and he always smiled and knew how to laugh. He was always concerned for everyone around him and never wished harm to anyone and always defended those who couldn't defend themselves.

His eyes were a marble black and he was a charmer. Troy was always there for his friends and he opened our home to many of them who had nowhere else to go. He even wanted to help out the homeless. He always told me not to judge others because we don't know what happened in their lives to make them lose hope, to make them lose the vision of their dreams.

At sixteen Troy had dreams of his own but he lived in scary times. He would always tell me, "Things aren't like when you were young." Troy knew this, and understood the struggles and pressures placed on our youth today. Troy played sports as a hobby but in his mind, when he completed college he wanted to come back to his community and help those who were faced with the same peer pressures as he was. He wanted to show the youth of the future, "look I made it and so can you.

Troy didn't make it, but this was his dream and his family will do their best to fulfill it! We do it for Troy, we do it for his brothers, and we do it for the many youth Troy had faith and hope for.

PHILOSOPHY

All of our life experiences are different. Some roads are more difficult than others but as individuals we must always remember how valuable we are to each other.

We have to be careful not to judge others because we are all human and have faults. All of us have made some sort of mistakes in the past. Mistakes for the most part are lessons we learn to grow from. We don't want to overlook mistakes but should see how those mistakes improved and changed lives. If we can't forgive some of these lessons, then how can we expect our youth to forgive us? How can we expect them to look upon each other with eyes that are not full of judgments?

The "Troy" Chavez Foundation believes that change begins in our homes. We can't do things and then turn to our children and say "do as I say not as I do." We can't set standards for them and have none for ourselves. If we continue to keep our eyes closed where our children are concerned and believe that we are free and exempt from our actions then we have no right to question how we got here. We will never reach perfection, but it doesn't mean we shouldn't try. It's our challenge as a human race to always expect more from ourselves, if we stop trying than there's nothing we can do to make a difference and in the end it will be all of who will loose. As a friend once said, "No one can accuse us of not loving or children; our fault is that we don't have tough love for them!" We don't need to be their best friends, we need to be their teachers, and we need to be the wise ones they come to when they can't find the answers themselves. We need to be the leaders we expect them to become.