Nonprofit Organization
Ryan Courtade Works With Passion
Ryan and I met a number of months back through mutual friends, and I knew when he spoke of the work he does that he would be a topic for a future blog post.
I have always truly admired people who follow their heart’s passion in life. Ryan is one of those special people.
It was while serving in the military, he told me, that he realized he wanted to do something in life to foster the success of young people. “I saw a lot of men and women come in who weren’t given a fair chance in life. They had a chip on their shoulder with a need to prove themselves,” he recalled. “I want to make sure everyone has a fair chance in life, not just to go to college but to gain life skills also.”
Fast forward to 2010.
It was May of that year when Ryan got word the tax exempt status he had been working so hard to achieve, finally came through. It was official – there became the Northern Kentucky Youth Foundation and at its helm – Ryan as its volunteer executive director.
The Foundation’s focus is on bringing people (volunteers, parents, teachers, students and organizations) in Northern 
Kentucky together to work collaboratively to help young people grow to their full potential. Its goal is to provide positive changes and policies that impact youth and create a better community, learning environment and future.
A youth council consists of 13 students in grades 7 through 11 from Boone, Kenton and Campbell Counties. They meet monthly to discuss issues in their schools and how they can take leadership. Over time, Ryan told me, the council members will create chapters within their own schools to affect positive change.
A new project.
Much of Ryan’s time lately has been on an anti-bullying campaign in schools that will be launched this fall. “We spend so much time focusing on the bully or the victim,” he said. “This campaign will be about empowering those who are watching the bully. As a culture we need to change. If someone is getting picked on, we want people to stand up and not tolerate it.”
The campaign will include a video with discussion guides, a television PSA, a website resource for parents and teachers.
The Children’s Home Sets Kids Up For Success With Theatre
Last week my mom and I had such a treat. We were invited to The Children’s Home Lower School theatre production of 
Aladdin. It was so special for us. This wasn’t just any theatre production at any school, this was a way The Children’s Home has found to get kids who learn differently or who traditionally have struggled in the classroom to be excited about learning…in essence, setting these young people with so much potential up for success.
Below is a write-up I found on The Children’s Home website following the performance.
Over 30 students participated in the Lower School Theatre Program’s production of Aladdin for an audience of classmates, staff, board members and donors. The Lower School serves children in grades K-8 who have behavioral or learning challenges that have prevented them from succeeding in a traditional classroom. Many of them have experienced abuse and neglect or other factors that have inhibited their healthy development.
Last year, one student in particular had a very small role in the school play and he struggled to maintain his behavior and manage his emotions.
This year, he told Director Sharon Walterman that he wanted a bigger role “I told him that we needed to be able to count on him to maintain good behavior, because kids who take on bigger roles are harder to replace if they slip up and lose the privilege of participating in the play,” says Walterman. “He looked me in the eye and said, ‘You can count on me this year. This is what I want to do,’ and he’s done an amazing job,” says Walterman. He’s back on track and the theatre program is helping.
The Lower School started the therapeutic theatre program in 2006 to enhance student’s social skills, self-esteem, and 
appreciation of the arts. Students are involved in many aspects of the play, including learning to use the spotlight and helping with set design and painting. Several students also act as the stage crew, and their classmates rely on them to set up props and move the set around as needed during the performance. The Children’s Home is well equipped to help students learn to manage their behavior, and the Theatre program offers the perfect opportunity to practice. Children learn and develop their social skills, like how to accept feedback from the Director. Learning to accept feedback is one of the key pieces of the Teaching Family Model, the evidence-based behavior modification practice that has been implemented campus-wide at The Children’s Home.
YMCA Celebrates 40 Examples Of Character Values
I’d like to introduce you to pretty awe-inspiring youth who I’m very lucky to be getting to know. They are some of our Greater Cincinnati area’s great role models for caring, respect, honest, responsibility and caring. I’m talking about the 40 teenagers who will be celebrated on April 17 as YMCA of Greater Cincinnati Character Award recipients.
Take for example…
Linnea Head, a 
student at Seven Hills School, whose influence has been described as ‘legendary’. A fearless model of ethics, it was during a school assembly when she stood before her student body and inspired every student to choose ‘trust’. Again she rallied her classmates to a cause when she heard about a Ugandan elementary school for displaced children.
Or
Dion’te Riley, a Withrow University High School student who traveled to the Domincan Republic to participate in a food drive. He personally collected enough food to fill 17 grocery carts for 
families in need.
Each one of the YMCA Character Award recipients has his/her own very personal story for impacting their world. I encourage you to please click the link and read more about them. If you know one of them…please congratulate them.
Or better yet…please join Tracey Johnson of FOX19 and the YMCA of Greater Cincinnati at the YMCA Character Awards Event on April 17. It begins at 6 p.m. at the School for Creative and Performing Arts. Cost is $25 per person for adults; $10 for youth. You can call 513-246-3205 to reserve a seat.
2012 YMCA Character Award recipients 2012
YMCA Character Award recipient list 2012
WIN TICKETS!
I will have two pairs of tickets to the event to give-a-way. I will be randomly
drawing two names of people who are Good Things Pledge champions. An additional
chance will be given for participating in the Good Things Going Around Facebook page.
Drawing will be on Wednesday night, April 11, 2012.
Not a Good Things Pledge champion yet? Just add your contact information on the Pledge page!
Honoree Shamari Hinkston Talks About ‘Caring’
Cincinnati Philanthropist Has A Personal Cause
I’ve known Myrna Ethridge for about five years now, about as long as I’ve been working with the YMCA of Greater Cincinnati. She is a board member of the YMCA Black & Latino Achievers Program who believes so wholeheartedly in the cause because she is so passionate about the success of young people. Several years ago the YMCA honored her with its Lifetime Achievement Award.
I love being around Myrna because she always has a smile. This past year, however, I didn’t get to see as much of her. Myrna’s split second happened in 2000. Out of the blue, this vibrant wife, mother and grandmother was diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension (PH), a life threatening disease that has made even walking up a slight incline a difficult task.
Her challenges are real and her medication costs thousands of dollars each month, which was okay when she had medical insurance, but when she turned 65 in 2007, her drug plan was no longer covered and Medicaid only paid for a portion. An organization called the Caring Voice Coalition has eradicated her fear and eased her financial burden by providing her a yearly grant for the medications costs not covered by Medicaid.
It really struck a chord with me when Myrna told me the other day, “I probably wouldn’t be alive today if it weren’t for the Coalition.”
And so, it was no surprise to me when her next sentence was, “It is time for me to give back.”
Myrna is organizing (with help from a small committee) a dinner fund raiser for the Caring Voice Coalition, which is headquartered in Mechanicsville, Va. Pamela Harris, the organization’s co-founder and president, will be the special guest.
The With Every Breath dinner will be April 6, 2012 at the Sharonville Convention Center (11355 Chester Rd; 45246) beginning at 7 p.m. Cost is $80 per person. For reservations or more information, please call 513-374-8360 or email witheverybreath@fuse.net.
ABOUT CARING VOICE COALITION
Caring Voice Coalition empowers patients with chronic diseases to meet the challenges they are facing by providing financial assistance, insurance education and patient support programs. Their holistic approach and comprehensive program 
currently assists patients in the Greater Cincinnati area and nationally.
Chronic diseases supported by the Coalition are Pulmonary Hypertension, Pulmonary Fibrosis, Alpha-1, Complex Partial Seizures, Infantile Spasms, Huntington’s disease, Congenital Factor XIII, Chronic Granulomatous Disorder and Narcolepsy.
Photo right: Pamela Harris
Cincinnati’s Unique Heritage Being Told In Cincy Story Mural
Something truly wonderful is happening. It is transcending generations, bringing together diverse people from just about every local community. Our great city of Cincinnati is being told, one person, one story, one neighborhood at a time. Old shoeboxes are coming out of storage. Camcorders and iphones are popping up in storefronts and street corners. Memories are being inked in vivid detail as prose on pieces of lined paper.
It is all a part of a first-time project called the Cincy Story Mural. Through a series of what are being called harvesting events, the public has been invited to share photos, videos, narratives, and drawings to help tell the story of their unique corner of the world. And by the spring of 2012 (which is fast upon us), they will all be transformed into a beautiful mural installed in locations throughout Cincinnati with an interactive online version.
Cincy Story Mural is a collaboration between Starfire Council, DIY Printing, Public Allies, Cincy.com, and artist Krista Brinkmeyer.
Krista is the vision behind the project. In her late 20’s, she has always had a passion for expressing herself through storytelling – sometimes by capturing moments in photographs and sometimes through written word. She also has a knack for making friends, an important quality for any role let alone the role of project director.
“I like myself very much. I work hard at Starfire. I am a good person and I am happy,” she wrote in her blog profile.
I sat down with Krista and her right hand man as they say, Leah Addison, an Americorp volunteer with Starfire. The idea, they told me, was sparked when Krista was developing an idea for her capstone project in her final year at Starfire U.
“I like taking pictures and showing them to my friends,” Krista said. “I’m learning to blog and email. I’m meeting a lot of people. I’m not done yet and I need everyone’s help.”
If you have a photo or story you would like to contribute, please contact them at infor@CincyStoryMural.org.
Photo Caption:
Today my friends Aaron and Sybilka and I made a poster for our Mural Launch Party. I got my picture taken while we were working on the screen printing. The posters are blue and silver. The posters tell about the project and they have a QR code on them so people can scan with their phones and read more about the project.
About Starfire U
I really couldn’t describe it better than the words used by Starfire on their website….
Starfire believes every person has gifts that should be valued and respected. Time at Starfire is spent discovering those gifts and finding the people and places where those gifts are able to shine the brightest. Starfire recognizes that all people want acceptance and need relationships. There is great value to relationships with the community and neighbors so an emphasis on building connection runs throughout each program. Starfire strives to maximize resources and generate new avenues and networks of connections for people.
Starfire U is a new, post-secondary opportunity focused on providing relevant educational opportunities for young adults with disabilities. It combines Starfire’s expertise in advancing socialization with traditional special education techniques. This research-based program will have a positive lifelong impact on the lives of people who experience disabilities.
The Starfire U curriculum includes communication, safety, transportation, health, citizenship, technology and volunteering. The knowledge and experience gained in the program helps people to become integral parts of their community.
Over the course of the four-year program, there is exposure to new opportunities, a chance to explore and define a person’s gifts and talents, find valued roles in their community, and build a network of support. The curriculum is designed to:
- Connect with the Community
- Develop Friendships
- Increase Social Confidence
- Gain Experiences at Local Colleges, Businesses, and Non‐Profits
- Contribute through Service
- Build Occupational Skills
- Develop Personalized Future Plan
