Children
YMCA Character Awards Celebrated Future Leaders
If you want to truly be inspired…spend an evening surrounded by young people who are making a difference in this 
world in their own very personal way. This was the 15th year that the YMCA of Greater Cincinnati celebrated teen role models for caring, respect, honesty and responsibility. It was such an honor for me to work with them and g
et to know them in writing their bios and working on the publicity. A special thank you to FOX19, who I got to partner with us in promoting it. Each day the week leading up to the event Tracey Johnson (who emceed the event) interviewed honorees on her Morning Xtra show.
Cincinnati Enquirer story on YMCA Character Awards
One of Tracey Johnson’s interview with YMCA Character Award honorees
Harlem Globetrotter Alumni Helping Cincinnati Youth
Meet my newest Good Things Pledge champions….Albert Gordon, Larry Coleman, Michael Douglas, and Tyron Hollywood Brown (pictured with me).
I met them at FOX19 and these Harlem Globetrotters alumni who are now part of the Harlem Legends Basketball Entertainers are all about doing good. They are in Cincinnati to play a basketball game Thursday night at Princeton High School benefiting the Princeton High School athletic department. Funds raised will help ensure students who want to play and can benefit from sports will be able to have that opportunity. Who will their team be up against? Community and business leaders, and educators – all of whom share a common passion for wanting to help young people succeed. The game will begin at 6 p.m. at Princeton High School (11080 Chester Rd; Cincinnati, Ohio 45246). Tickets are $10 in advance or $13 at the door. For more information, please call 513-864-1500.
Are you a Good Things Pledge champion? Sure you are. We all are because we all have within ourselves the power to do and nurture good things. If you visit my Pledge page on this blog and add your name, I’ll send you a certificate. 
About the Harlem Legends
The Harlem Legends Basketball Entertainers are all Harlem Globetrotters alumni who want to use their talents to bring out the best in others, especially young people.
Legend Michael Douglas began his youth foundation in 1991 to provide positive and educational activities for communities around the globe. The Michael Douglas Youth Foundation brings together motivational speakers, NBA stars, Harlem Legends members and entertainers to raise money for nonprofits and teach youth how to succeed in the game of life.
Chosen as an advocate for the President’s Fitness Challenge, the Harlem Legends will take the lead in being role models for youth and society through a variety of activities including Shoot for the Stars basketball and physical fitness camps, celebrity basketball shows and motivational programs.
“Kids are our future. They look up to professional athletes and so we want to be the best possible role models we can be. We’re all about encouraging them to follow their dreams to ensure a bright future for themselves,” Michael told me, “but we’re not just helping kids by doing this, we’re helping…period.”
A Teen’s Perspective On ‘Caring’
On April 17, 2012 Erin Daniels, a junior at North College Hill High School in Cincinnati, will be among 40 local students who will be honored by the YMCA of Greater Cincinnati as a YMCA Character Award recipient. Each of the honorees has her/her own very unique story of making a difference but what they all share is how they are role models for the character values of caring, respect, honesty and responsibility.
I was with Erin recently for a television interview and afterward asked her what it means to be ‘caring’. This is what she said.
YMCA Character Awards 2012 news release
2012 YMCA Character Award recipients 2012
The YMCA Character Awards Event will be April 17, 2012 at the School for Creative & Performing Arts. Doors open at 6 p.m. Tickets for the event are $25 for an adult or $10 for a youth. To purchase a ticket, please call 513-246-3205.
I have a few tickets to give-a-way. I will be drawing on this coming Wednesday from among my Good Things Pledge champions. Not a champion yet? It’s simple. Just visit the page and add your contact information.
Mattie Stepanek…On Being A Champion
Today I’d like to share with you a poem by a young boy with a deep knowledge of what is most meaningful in life. At 13, Mattie Stepanak lost his courageous battle with a rare and fatal neuromuscular disease…but not before he shared his insights to make the world a better place. His words will forever be his legacy.
Calling Greater Cincinnati Student Performers!
Empowering young people to pursue their passions, to use their creative skills and to bring out their strengths is one of the greatest gifts we can pass along.
The Cincinnati Arts Association is doing just that with the region’s largest solo arts competition for students – the 
Overture Awards Program. This year it is initiating a new opportunity for Tri-State teens in grades 9 to 12.
The Next Pop Star Competition is designed for singers and dancers who perform popular music and dance. Most of them will not have studied privately. It will offer a chance for them to compete with others who share their enjoyment of these art forms. Applications from students who have competed in the Overture Award Program in the past will not be accepted.
25 dancers and 25 vocal music students will be allowed to compete on a first-come first-served basis for no longer than five minutes. There is an application that must be filled out but no application fee. The application can be found at http://www.cincinnatiarts.org/Overture_Awards
Two winners, one from each discipline, will receive a $300 prize. The event will be Saturday, June 2, 2012 at The Aronoff Center from 9:00 a.m.to 1:00 p.m. Students will receive a letter with a specific time at which they should report.
The Arts Association will provide a keyboard and a CD player for students’ use and they can bring an accompanist.
Guidelines for both disciplines can be found on our website, cincinnatiarts.org/overture_awards. Click on the Next Pop Star link.
Please call Carolyn Phillips with any questions at 513-977-4168 or send an e-mail to cphillips@cincinnatiarts.org.
A word about competition from the Cincinnati Arts’ Association:
Successful working artists agree that self-discipline, hard work, determination, and one’s ability to deal positively with criticism are the best indicators for success in the arts. Many brilliant high school performers have gone on to lead very traditional lives. Many people whose talents went completely unrecognized in high school have gone on to have brilliant careers in the arts.
This year’s Overture Awards will provide just one of many occasions in which a young artist’s creative efforts will be judged. A realistic picture of how a competition works and a healthy attitude about winning and losing will help keep stress to a minimum and allow contestants to keep the competition in good perspective so that it can be a useful learning experience.
