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I am from Steubenville, Ohio.

Hearing that can bring a variety of reactions. For many people, "Steubenville" means "big Catholic college" and "high school youth conferences." For others, it means drugs, violence, poverty, and  - recently - rape.

But Steubenville isn't any of those things to me - at least, it can't be reduced to any of those things.

For me Steubenville means friends and family. It is the place where I grew up and the people I know.

It's where I went to church and learned about God - where I began serving at the altar (and I haven't stopped since.)

It's my beloved Catholic Central High School, and my even more beloved Catholic Central High School Marching Band. It's where I learned to play - and to love playing - music. It's Saturday night football games (because we had to rent the field from the public school) where I cared much more about our halftime show than the scoreboard.

Steubenville is the parks, movie theaters, parking lots, and woods-behind-my-house where we hung out, had adventures, and enjoyed life.

It's the beauty of the Ohio Valley - with the ever present hills and river.

It's having people know who you are because they know your parents. It's a bond of knowing that we come from the same place

Steubenville is a million things in my mind and my heart that combine to be more than a town - they make up a history - my history.

Recently a stranger asked me where I was from, and when I said, "Steubenville," she replied, "Well, I won't hold that against you."

She shouldn't. I am not ashamed to be from Steubenville; because a place can't be reduced to it's problems. You can't know a community from headlines and statistics. There are real problems there, but there is also goodness, beauty, and hope.

Why am I writing this? Because some college students are doing something beautiful for my hometown and I think you should help them. Take a minute to read Marc Barnes' post and then go donate to The Harmonium Project. They are taking a chance on Steubenville and giving of themselves to make the place they live a little better.

We all live in places with real people who have real struggles. We must be the ones who reach out and help. As Christians we're called to have hope - hope that even the toughest situations can be transformed by the love of God. These people are attempting to live and act in that hope. I'm happy and proud to support them.