Kindness
Cincinnati Kids Can Apply For Grants To Nonprofits
I love the whole concept of Bake Me Home – two sisters who share a love for helping others and a mom who believes in encouraging their dreams reaching out to brighten the days of families struggling day-by-day. (To read my blog story about them, please click here.)
Bake Me Home is also encouraging other kids to get involved and give back.
Through the Bake Me Home’s Bake It Forward Program, kids entering 2nd through 9th grade who have made a difference in the lives of children can apply for a $100 grant to the nonprofit of their choice from Bake Me Home. Along with the grant money to benefit their chosen charity, winners will receive a Bake It Forward t-shirt, jar of Bake Me Home cookie mix, and will be invited to a celebration at the Duke Energy Children’s Museum on October 14th, 2012.
Deadline for submissions is September 6, 2012.
Aaron Collins Last Wish – Kindness
Aaron Collins is described as the type of person that took great joy in unexpected kindness. Once after receiving exceptionally bad service at dinner, from a rude waitress, he left her a $50 tip. Things like this, given or received, were what he thought left a mark on a person’s life,” on the website.
A man with so much good in his heart was taken from this earth too soon. Aaron died July 7, 2012…just three weeks after his 30th birthday. But before his life ended, he made a last wish…to brighten someone else’s day and pay kindness forward.
What was his wish? Giving a random waitress a $500 tip after ordering pizza. After raising money through a website they built, his family carried out that wish at Puccini’s restaurant in Lexington, Kentucky on July 10.
Aaron’s brother Seth wrote, “We think he just wanted to provide a random act of kindness and generosity for someone he thought was under appreciated; the kind of thing that would make a lasting impact they would never forget.”
Mission very accomplished.
I found this note on the website:
“I just wanted to take a moment to thank all of you for the overwhelming amount of support you have given my family. Since last night we have received over $10,000 in donations. When I started this site I only expected to receive donations from friends and family. I was hopeful that we would get enough to make my brother’s wish come true. Even in my wildest dreams, I imagined we would receive enough money to do this for 2 waiters or waitresses. What has happened is absolutely incredible.
Right now we have enough money to change the lives of 23 more people, $500 at a time. That is nothing short of amazing. Please know that absolutely every penny we receive will go toward nothing but this. We will pay to host the website. We will pay for the food. Absolutely 100% of the donations we receive will be given to random waiters or waitresses. Our goal is to do this once a week, for as long as you give us the opportunity.”
The Value Of Mentoring – One Volunteer’s Story
Note: this is a guest post written by Nora Cordrey
As young people around the Tri-State and across the nation prepare for the rite of passage known as high school graduation, take a moment to think about the ones who had to overcome incredible odds to get there. In many families, going to college is a given. Other teens have never known an adult who finished high school and chose to continue their education. To many, that sends a less than positive message about the value of education.
As a volunteer with Big Brother Big Sisters of Greater Cincinnati, I’ve spent years mentoring Jamaysha. We met when she was 9—wide-eyed and full of spirit, but also a victim of a world she didn’t create. Her father died before she was born, she seldom sees her mother, her guardian passed away when Jamaysha was 14, and she’s been enrolled in five school districts because of constantly having to move.
Through it all, as her “Big Sister,” I have encouraged her to stay focused on her school and to take advantage of every opportunity. My husband and I learned of the Upward Bound program which assists first generation college-bound students with tutoring, enrichment activities and developing leadership skills. Once she was accepted into Upward Bound, Jamaysha committed to and has participated in the program for the last four years. This involvement, and her hard work, has helped prepare her for college. In the Fall, she will attend Cincinnati State, studying culinary arts.
My “Little Sister” is graduating from high school, one of the few members of her family to do so. She ranks 34th in a class of 220 with a grade point average of 3.13. She’s an inspiration. Not content to sit on the sidelines, and overcoming transportation issues, she found a way to participate in several extra-curricular activities and hold a job. She has learned the value and pleasure of giving back to the community and we have volunteered together at charity events. I believe Jamaysha will someday be an incredible mentor herself.
I am not Jamaysha’s only mentor and join teachers past and present, our Big Brothers Big Sisters case manager, the director of Upward Bound, Jamaysha’s family and others in congratulating her and all the other young people who are overcoming circumstances to find success.
As adults, we have a responsibility to the young people in our community. There are many more Tri-State children who need mentors, who need guides as they head into the future. The mission of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Cincinnati is to help children become successful in school and in life. Surely that’s what we all want and, surely, what all children deserve.
Consider becoming a mentor today.
Cincinnati Students Showing Their Character Values
Some 1000 Cincinnati school children are proudly telling the world they are being the best they can be. They’re wearing t-shirts that they earned for demonstrating positive character values.
The incentive project was a partnership between TSC Apparel and the Character Council of Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky and Rees E. Price Academy, Ethel M. Taylor Academy, and Westwood School, all Cincinnati Public Schools who have adopted school wide character education programs to create a safe and positive culture for learning.
The t-shirts carry a character message and artwork designed by the students themselves. A Westwood student came up with the theme, “Being the best at getting better!” Similarly, Ethel M Taylor shirts include a student-designed message, “Others wish for it, we work for it!”
Students earn t-shirts through their demonstration of kindness, respect, and positive behavior. At Taylor Academy, chosen students are recognized monthly for their character in a ceremony that is broadcast internally to students and staff. At right are Taylor students of the month.
