Sabel Bong knows what it’s like to have nothing and be given a chance to have everything.

That’s why Bong, a Canton UUP member, gives back.

Bong, the child of Cambodian parents, was born in a Thailand refugee camp filled with Cambodians who fled their country to escape the Khmer Rouge, Cambodia’s brutal ruling party in the 1970s.

His future uncertain, Bong was thrown a lifeline by caring strangers, thousands of miles away. An Ithaca Baptist church sponsored Bong’s family and brought them to America.

Bong, a UAlbany graduate, never forgot the selfless gesture that changed every aspect of his life, and he’s been paying it forward ever since he was old enough to lend a helping hand. He volunteered with Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Capital Region in Albany as a UAlbany student in the 1990s.

Realizing how much he enjoyed working with kids, he began donating his time to a new organization, Children of Our Community Open to Achievement, or COCOA House, in 2003. The Schenectady-based non-profit group offers homework help and snacks, and teaches computer and life skills to more than two dozen elementary school students from the city’s Hamilton Hill area. And it’s all free.

Bong, who lives in the Canton area, has worked with COCOA House since his college days, cutting lawns, planting flowers and doing yard work. His then-girlfriend, Marvenia, who is now his wife, introduced him to the program, started by Marvenia’s sister, Rachel.

His involvement progressed; recently, he stepped in as the organization’s executive director and drives to Schenectady—which is about a four-hour ride—as many as three weekends a month to take care of COCOA House business. He does it because he cares.

“I want to give those kids as much opportunity as I was given coming to this country,” Bong said. “I want to open doors for them. I want to look them in the eye, shake hands firmly and know they can succeed. It’s about inspiration and hope, that they can do anything they set their minds to.”

That’s a big reason Bong found himself behind a grill on a muggy Saturday afternoon in August, flipping burgers and serving up bowls of spicy Cambodian curry chicken and Jamaican jerk chicken to some of the 60 or so kids, volunteers and local politicians who came out for COCOA House’s community award ceremony and fundraiser.

When he wasn’t grilling, he was running between the kitchen and a computer, from which he printed certificates of appreciation for COCOA House volunteers. And that doesn’t count the hours he spent before the event, obtaining a stage, booking entertainment and getting a city permit to close off roads near the house for the party.

“It’s hectic but it’s fun,” he said.

And well worth the effort for Bong, who has seen firsthand how tough it is for COCOA House kids, many of who come from low-income families and live in a neighborhood that has been plagued by crime and violence. COCOA House’s digs used to be a dilapidated den for crack users, he said.

“I was tutoring last December and we asked students what they wanted for Christmas,” Bong said. “One of the students said that the only thing she wants is her dad back. One kid, he didn’t have enough money for a portable (PlayStation Portable) video game, so he took a piece of paper and drew a game and pretended to play that.”

“It’s people like Sabel, who give back to their community and help make Schenectady a great city,” said Mayor Bryan Stratton, after being handed a certificate by Bong at the fundraiser. “COCOA House has made a tremendous impact on our community and it’s due to the dedication of people like Sabel.”

And COCOA House continues to grow. Recently, a family whose son was killed by a gunshot in 1995 donated a nearby house to COCOA House. It will cost about $90,000 to renovate the house for the program’s use; Bong said the group’s directors are seeking donations and companies who will do the work for free or at little cost.

“I feel honored to be here,” said Bong. “When I look in the eyes of those kids,

I give them my very best. If it were anything less than that, I’d feel like I’d be letting them down.”

— Michael Lisi