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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.
Loveland Student Receives National Attention For Volunteer Work
How exciting for Loveland student Mack Pairan (who attends Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy)! He was honored in Washington D.C. at the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards. Mack was named one of Ohio’s top two youth volunteers from the nationwide program honoring young volunteers.
In 2009, Mack began a mission that 
has collected over 7000 toiletry items for people in need. The enterprising then 9-year-old passed flyers out in his neighborhood, an effort that generated some 300 items. And, as is what happens a lot when you give with your heart, he wanted to do more. Mack began hosting three annual collection events.
“No matter what your age or what you have, there is always someone who is less fortunate than you, and we are all here to serve in our own way,” said Mack.
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.
Cincinnati Reds Rookie Success League Taught Skills For Baseball…And Life
“Baseball is such a metaphor with life. There is so much humility built into the game. We knew with the right volunteers and leadership, the League could bring that message home.”
~ Charley Frank, Cincinnati Reds Community Fund executive director
What a wonderful gift the Cincinnati Reds Community Fund has given local children in urban neighborhoods. Each summer for the past nine years, Schmidt Fields has been filled with laughter and hi-fives. Kids, many of whom had never picked up a baseball before, are creating memories, learning the fundamentals of America’s favorite pastime, and being prepared for an enriched life in a character-based curriculum.
The Cincinnati Reds Rookie Success League is a free summer coed camp. At Schmidt Field – two days a week there are more than 170 kids from YMCA of Greater Cincinnati afterschool programs and some from the Cincinnati Boys and Girls Clubs; and two days a week there are children from the Cincinnati Recreation Commission. There are also camps in Fairfield, Mason, and Louisville. Collectively, more than 1,500 children participated this year.
“At the YMCA we know participating in sports is a great way for teaching kids that being active is a lot of fun, and more than that, sports are also a great environment to build their confidence and teach them skills that will help them grow into positive, contributing adults later in life,” said Chuck Barlage, executive director of the Williams YMCA who coordinated the YMCA participation. “We are so appreciative to the Cincinnati Reds for stepping forward to provide these learning experiences for our kids.”
According to the Reds, minus interns and a handful of staff, the vast majority of the coaches are volunteers who care. Some of the Cincinnati Reds players also stopped by.
“The league is intended to teach the game in a very safe, fun and non-threatening environment,” said Charley Frank, executive director of the Cincinnati Reds Community Fund. “However, we want the kids to leave with familiarity with the “Six Stars of Success” that we teach each day – Cooperation; Integrity; Respect; Education; Determination and Spirit.”
About the Reds Community Fund:
Since its inception in 2001, the Reds Community Fund has used baseball as a vehicle to reach out to kids. As the nonprofit arm of baseball’s first professional team, the Community Fund strives to create programming that connects underserved children with baseball, while creating fundraising programs that connect baseball with the community. Whether it’s renovating baseball fields, providing opportunities to kids with disabilities, underwriting expenses for inner-city teams or hosting its “Reds Rookie Success League,” the Reds Community Fund is dedicated to improving the lives of youth through baseball. On the web at: www.redsyouthbaseball.org
DeVont’e Roach Is Reaching For His Dream
Earlier this year before a packed auditorium at the School for Creative and Performing Arts, a young man with a destiny came onto the stage. DeVont’e Roach was one of 40 teens being honored that night by the YMCA of Greater Cincinnati for living his life upon the values of caring, respect, responsibility and honesty. He is a young person totally committed to making this world a better place, to living out dreams and giving your voice purpose.
A recent graduate of Purcell Marian High School, DeVont’e is already an accomplished philanthropist, singer, song writer and composer. And at the end of this summer he will also be a student at the acclaimed Berklee College of Music in Boston with help from a scholarship.
Tonight on Fountain Square, DeVont’e will become the 15th recipient of a Michael W. Bany Scholarship, established in honor of Cincinnati’s popular musician who was murdered after a performance in 1995. After the presentation DeVot’e will sing a song with the Sonny Moorman Group as part of the PNC Summer Music Series.
How exciting for him!
Below is the bio for DeVont’e from the YMCA Character Awards (written in April, 2011)
Life isn’t always easy, but often times through perseverance you gain strength and a renewed direction. In DeVont’e’s case, he grew wings. The academic honors student has found his spark in music and giving back. At 18, DeVont’e is already an accomplished songwriter and composer with two recently released singles. His yearning to make a difference has found him in Mississippi helping with Hurricane Katrina clean-up, in Kenya teaching children and spreading the message of peace, and in school sitting on his student council. DeVont’e also co-edits a newsletter for nonprofit Elementz, serves as youth commissioner for the Cincinnati Recreation Commission, and works part-time at the Melrose YMCA. He has been honored with the Public Speaking Artistry Award by the Fine Arts Fund, and with the Freshman Leadership and Morality Awards from his high school.
