Students
A Cincinnati Teen Talks About Volunteering & Community Service
I asked Cincinnati teen Jillian Schmidt, a student at Mt. Notre Dame High School, what volunteering/community service means to her and this is what she shared.
“Service is an important part of my life. I love reaching out to others and helping them the best I can with whatever is possible. By 
doing service I learn many things I didn’t know before and I meet new people every time. Every time I do service, I get this feeling in my stomach; it starts off as butterflies and turns into excitement and joy. This is the feeling I get after I help others and while I help others, it is probably one of the best feeling ever. My favorite volunteer work is volunteer work with kids or some type of landscaping volunteer work. When you do volunteer work do something that you love to do or do it with a friend because that always makes it more fun. I think that the most rewarding thing that you can leave with is to know that you helped make a difference and that you helped others. I have learned to be more grateful for what I have through many of my service projects. I have also noticed or learned that what I may get out of a service project the other person may not get out of the service project. Sometimes I may get a little tired during the time I am doing service, but what keeps me going is the fact that I am helping others.”
A Mentor Is A Special Gift
Written by Greg, a volunteer mentor with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Butler County
I first met Cody in March of 2009. He was age 9 and I was 32. The Big Brothers Big Sisters of Butler County staff shared that the main reason Cody and his mom were looking for a “Big” was because they wanted a positive male role model in his life. From the beginning, our relationship was easy.
One early moment of importance came as we were driving back from a late-spring afternoon at the Cincinnati Zoo. I asked Cody what his favorite part of the day was. As a self-proclaimed penguin-fan, he told me it was, “…seeing the penguins.” He asked me back & I truthfully answered, “Spending the day with you.” The always talkative Cody was literally speechless. Better still, he had a huge smile on his face and he was genuinely proud. My words had struck a chord with Cody. He does not know it – but his smile struck right back.
As time passed, our relationship grew. I began looking for ways where I could help expand Cody’s horizons, while we were spending time together. I travel for work so I always make sure that Cody learns a little bit about each place that I go. We talk about different types of careers and the different things he may be able to do. We frequently talk about college and about the benefits a college education can bring.
In our match, I have tried to find the ‘balance’ between being “an adult” who tells him what to do and being “a friend” he can trust. So, this past summer, when Cody texted to tell me that he had tried to pierce his ear (without permission,)I was happy to know that he felt he could trust his ‘secret’ with me.
Cody is a great kid with a very generous heart and a mom that is a tremendously positive influence in his life. But, as he gets bigger, his decisions get bigger as well. And, like so many other adults out there looking out for teenagers, that reality makes me worry. So, Cody trusting me with his secret was a source of relief because it gives me hope that he may turn to me again down the road when he is in a time of need. And, all of that provides great insight into just how much my little brother has come to mean to me.
Cody lost his “Papaw” (maternal grandfather) about 2 years ago. Papaw was the main male role model in Cody’s life and I got to know him through our visits when I would get Cody at Papaw’s home. Towards the end, Papaw was in a hospice care facility where Cody and I visited him with the family. And during one visit, Papaw took the time to express his sincere thanks to me for being there for Cody. It warmed my heart that my match with Cody could make that much difference to his Papaw. And, his appreciation only strengthened my resolve and commitment to be there for Cody in any way that I could be.
I have volunteered for many different charity-based organizations over the years, but I never found a scenario where I felt I made a true connection with the person(s) that I was helping, so I was always looking for more. The Big Brothers Big Sisters program has provided me so much more than I knew to be possible. I came into the program because I wanted to give back, but I had no idea how much I would get in return.
How You Can Help
In addition to becoming a mentor yourself, you can help raise money for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Butler County by participating in Bowl for Kids Sake.
How can you get involved? It is easier than ever…just follow these quick steps:
1. Organize a team of 4-6 people
2. Register here:
- Saturday, March 9, 3:00 PM Eastern Lanes, Middletown
http://www.firstgiving.com/bcbbbs/bowl-for-kids-sake-2013-middletown-ohio
3. Raise money – It’s as simple as each team member asking for $10 from 5 people. They hope to see each team raise at least $50 per member (a total of $200-300 depending on how many people are on your team).
4. Come enjoy the FUN!! Come bowl, get a great looking T-shirt, eat pizza, win prizes and celebrate all your hard work!
Questions? Contact Molly Jones at molly.jones@bbbsbutler.org
or 867-1227 or 424-3397.
Art From Cincinnati Students And Artists On Display
photo credit: Pete Bender
The talents of Cincinnati artists and young students will be on display at an exhibit at University of Cincinnati Blue Ash College through the end of March.
The annual Festival in the Woods is open to the public. It runs through March 29 in Muntz Hall on the UC Blue Ash campus, 9555 Plainfield Road. (Monday – Friday, 10 a.m.to 8 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, noon to 5 p.m.)
Started in 1989, Festival in the Woods features more than 1,500 original works of art this year.Several local and private schools will be represented. They include Loveland, Deer Park, Indian Hill, Loveland, Madeira, Mariemont and Sycamore.
Featured artists
• Marcie May: author of “The Adventures of Penny and Tubs,” selling and signing books.
• Valerie Woebkenberg: author of “The Story the Little Christmas Tree Told,” selling and signing books and she has notecards.
• Trudy Roesch: Watercolor artist-paints a variety of winter scenes, flowers, herbs, and will have pictures and cards for sale.
• Gary Overmann: a collector of children’s’ books especially those by Beatrix Potter, Tasha Tudor. He will sell books.
• John Kraimer: director of disability services, artist, musician.
Visitors are encouraged to support a project incorporating the love of art and reading. Through the Festival in the Woods event, UC Blue Ash is partnering with the national First Book organization to provide handmade bookmarks to give to children in need. The bookmarks will be distributed with their new books.
For more information about the Festival in the Woods, visit the UC Blue Ash website at www.ucblueash.edu/performingarts/festival/festival or call (513) 936-1573.
Cincinnati Students Raising Money For Pediatric Cancer Nonprofits
Local Cincinnati high school students are organizing a 13 hour, overnight event to raise awareness and funds for three area nonprofits focusing on pediatric cancer.
Night for the Fight will include walking, team challenges, guest speakers and entertainment. At the end of the event, participants will have input as to which programs funded by The Cure Starts Now, CancerFree Kids or the Jeffrey Thomas Hayden Foundation will receive their fundraising dollars.
It all takes place April 13 to 14, 2013 at the Xavier University Cintas Center, beginning at 7:00 p.m. Student leaders can register on the website (www.nightforthefight.org) and form teams of 6 to 15 peers. All fundraising is done online.
Interested schools and students can also contact Todd Forman at tforman@mndhs.org or at 513-550-0518.
How Many Random Acts Of Kindness Can $1 Buy?
What can you buy with a $1 bill? Well, a random act of kindness for starters. How about many random acts of kindness?
One hundred students at John Jay Middle School in the Katonah-Lewisboro school district in Cross River, New York were asked to spend one dollar on something good for someone else. The assignment was given one week after the tragic shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Teachers Laura Atwell, Gail Bergman, Amy Baisley, Nick Stathis and Jim Egeler gave the kids 26 days for the project (representing the number of students and teachers killed).
“We were all stunned after Newtown,” Atwell told Lisa Buchman of the Bedford-Katona Patch. “It might seem to seventh graders that there isn’t a lot they can do after a situation like that, so we wanted to empower them to do something good.”
The teachers donated $20 of their own money so each student would receive one dollar to spend on someone else.
The results?
Many of the students increased their funds by soliciting matching donations through social networks.
Mills Reed purchased three copies of the book The Three Questions by John Muth, and donated one copy each in memory of Anne Marie Murphy, a Katonah native and teacher who died at Sandy Hook. Reed arranged for the books to go to the Mount Kisco Library, Katonah Village Library and Somers Public Library—where Murphy was born, raised and buried.
Ryan Kingston of Cross River used social media to raise matching $1 contributions for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society in memory of his best friend whom he lost to the disease a few years ago.
Caleigh Boyer-Holt of Katonah also grew her dollar which she and six other students used to buy supplies to hold a bake sale in Katonah. They raised $200 and donated it to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
Here are some other examples, as relayed by Atwell to the Bedford-Katona Patch:
Three students (independent of each other) used the dollar to buy stamps, and wrote and mailed letters to their elected officials asking for sensible laws around guns.
One student obtained matching funds and pre-paid for 26 coffees at Noka Joe’s, leaving 26 slips of paper at the counter to be handed to each customer, explaining their coffee was pre-paid in honor of the lives lost at Newtown.
One student traveling in Belize gave her dollar to a girl of apparent little means there.
Many students did extra chores at home, earning extra money to donate to local nonprofts such as the Outreach ALS Foundation.
“One dollar was the seed for these kids to spread kindess,” Atwell said. “This may turn into a team tradition.”
