responsibility
40 Cincinnati Students Received Project GRAD Scholarships
It’s so great to see organizations, volunteers and professionals all putting their energy together to help young people dream and realize personal success.
Project GRAD is a nonprofit partner of Cincinnati Public Schools whose goal it is to help students succeed in the classroom and in life. More than 2000 students have strengthened their academic skills, their relationships with parents and their self confidence as a result the organization’s programs.
And recently, forty 2011 graduates of Western Hills University High School were honored by Project GRAD with Rising Star Scholarships totaling $134,000. Scholarship recipients had a minimum 2.5 cumulative grade point average, completed the college recommended academic requirements and participated in two Project GRAD Summer Institutes.
Congratulations to them for all of their accomplishments…and thank you to organizations like Project GRAD for encouraging them to be their best.
The Good Things Going Around Pledge Is Spreading
A couple months ago I created the Good Things Pledge as an outlet to brighten people’s days and inspire others to live for every moment, and to see and appreciate the good that is all around. All of us have within ourselves the power to make a positive contribution. Cultivating that good through a sincere respect, caring and appreciation is one of the most important gifts we can give.
What is the Good Things Pledge? It is a simple promise to remind yourself every day of what is positive. The Pledge is a personal vow that involves appreciation, being kind and being aware that every small act has the potential for a huge impact.
Take a look at some of the people who have recently taken the Pledge.
Jill Dunne, Stephanie Johnson, and Brandy Jones of the Cincinnati Metro
marketing team
Melissa Currence with the
Greater Cincinnati Foundation
“Working at The Greater Cincinnati Foundation, I know Cincinnati has a lot to give. I have the Good Things Pledge hanging up in my workspace and it reminds me to do my best every day to help our community. Cincinnati has wonderful neighborhoods and causes to support. Let’s keep the good things going around!”
Taking the Pledge is simple. Just visit the Good Things Pledge page and fill in your information in the white box. I’ll send you your certificate.
Meet Greater Cincinnati’s Role Models Who Are All Under 18
I’d like to introduce you to some of Greater Cincinnati’s most outstanding humanitarians. They’re mentors, volunteers, fundraisers, athletes, and scholars. And they are YMCA of Greater Cincinnati’s Character Award honorees. I’ve got to say…one of my pleasures in doing public relations for the Y and working on the bios for this program is getting to know such outstanding role models. Each with their own unique story and gift to this world, they give so much and they truly understand what it means to be a good person.
Take for example…
Raquel Brown (pictured on the left), a student at Cincinnati’s School for Creative and Performing Arts, who has been described as a young woman with a smile that lights up a room and a maturity far beyond her years. Such a deep appreciation for living comes from her own inner strength as her determination overpowered juvenile diabetes that, at the age of 9, almost took her life and required multiple surgeries.
or
Wyoming High School’s Brandon Weiss (pictured on the right), an incredible teen who sees the need of those around him and strives for meaningful ways to make an impact. He has a passion for interfaith relations and spent last summer in Israel and Poland learning about the effects of the Holocaust.
or
Natalie Bryans (pictured below), a student at St. Ursula Academy, who has said some of her greatest inspirations, her heroes, are her friends because ‘they are all so kind and welcoming.’
With youth development being one of the YMCA’s core focus areas, the YMCA Character Awards are an opportunity to celebrate young people who exemplify the Y’s core values of caring, respect, honesty and responsibility. The YMCA Character Awards Event will begin at 6 p.m. on April 11 at the School for Creative & Performing Arts. Tickets are $25 for adults and $10 for youth.
To register, please call the Community Services YMCA at 513-961-3200.
All 40 YMCA of Greater Cincinnati Character Award honoree bios are on the YMCA of Greater Cincinnati website. You may just know one of them.
Remembering Freedom Riders Helps Us Not Repeat The Past
If you’re familiar with my blog, you know I have devoted it to sharing information and news that is uplifting. My goal is to give you reasons to smile and pass along more good things. But sometimes, in order to pass along good things, we have to be cognizant of the past. We have to have a willingness to stand up for our friends and our neighbors. We have to realize that our world is better, stronger only by opening our minds and hearts to the unique gifts each one of us has to share.
That’s why when Stephanie Creech at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center shared information with me about local students participating in a national Freedom Riders webcast, I knew that the topic was one we need to talk about.
Yes, the topic of racial injustice is very painful – just as is the topic of cultural and religious injustice such as the Holocaust – but only by educating ourselves and raising awareness can we be steadfast in not allowing history to repeat itself.
If you’re unfamiliar, Freedom Riders were a diverse group of more than 400 Americans who from May until November of 1961 rode south together on buses and trains, putting their lives and their freedom on the line. These brave men and women – blacks and whites, Jews and Christians – endured savage attacks and arrests to challenge segregation policies…often while officials did nothing. The Freedom Rides changed the civil rights movement and demonstrated the power of individual action to change the nation.
Remembering
Some 200 students from Middletown and Holmes High Schools were in the Freedom Center’s Harriet Tubman Theater to view the webcast. Afterward panelists, including several of the high school students and veteran Freedom Rider Thomas Armstrong, led an open dialogue. At the end of the program, all of the students, NURFC Director of Advancement Kim Robinson and Thomas joined hands and collectively sang “We Shall Over Come.”
When he was thanked for the role he played for changing American culture, Thomas looked into the eyes of the students and told them humbly, “I wouldn’t want to brag, of course, but I do believe we made a difference.”
For more information about the upcoming PBS documentary on the Freedom Riders, and a cross country Freedom Rider with students retracing the original 1961 rides, please click here.
A Cincinnati Valentine’s Day Card That Gives Back
This Valentine’s Day, give a card that gives back. What a special project for these children in Kennedy Heights, teaching them about social responsibility while encouraging their creative minds.
Bess Lindeman, a student at Kennedy Heights Arts Center, suggested a project where kids could create handmade art cards for Valentine’s Day, sell them to the public and donate the proceeds to a local charity. She put the word out and the response was, well overwhelming. What a wonderful idea from such a caring and inventive girl.
Kennedy Heights Arts Center teamed up with artist April Cooper and 15 high school volunteers from Ursuline Academy for a day of service on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. On that day, 35 youth, ages 5 to 12, created three types of cards: watercolors with original poetry, pop-up cards and prints made from etchings on a press. The cards – more than 100 unique varieties – are on sale for $3 each at the Kennedy Heights Arts Center now through Valentine’s Day.
The students selected The Caring Place – a food pantry serving families in Kennedy Heights and Pleasant Ridge – as the beneficiary of their proceeds.
So, this Valentine’s Day, instead of purchasing a mass-produced card, consider giving one of these unique, handmade cards to your loved ones. Your purchase will support families in need in our community.
Cards may be purchased in the art shop at Kennedy Heights Arts Center, 6546 Montgomery Rd. Hours are Tuesdays through Thursdays 10am – 6pm; Fridays 10am – 5pm; and Saturdays 11am to 4pm. For more information, call 513-631-4278 or visit www.kennedyarts.org.
