"Many of the football players stated that they too had grown up in violent schools, but they managed to stay out of trouble. They made the kids realize that people can still be important, popular, and definitely successful without following the usual route of violence." Tracy Leenig, Carbondale High, Illinois
"The best thing adults can do to be good examples, is to live their lives to the best of their ability. Fortunately, there are many people who have chosen to be responsible. They are aware of the example they are setting. An example of this is my father. He knew that his first career choice [as an attorney] was not what he was called to do. After 10 years of practicing law, he decided to become a pastor. His career switch was drastic, but it had tremendous effects. That does not mean everyone should become a pastor. It means that there is a need to find out what it is that's most important to one specifically. Once that's determined, it's important to take action on it." Rebecca Turner, Colby High School, Colby, Kansas
"In the Lincoln Projects, in Harlem, New York, there lived a family of twelve. They were relatively poor, but their father was able to put his nine children through a community college. They graduated and landed good jobs. Then they were able to afford better living conditions in a nicer neighborhood. When they were young, their father always told them to 'give something back.' Now each year, they give scholarships to high school students from their old neighborhood." Jerry Schreck, Eureka High School, Eureka, Illinois
"Professional football player Warren Moon, the Houston Oilers quarterback, founded the Crescent Moon Foundation. Created in 1989, the foundation has offered 80 scholarships to high school students in the past four years. He [Mr. Moon] founded Crescent Moon to provide educational and cultural opportunities, and friends and mentors to needy kids. The scholarships provided by this foundation fulfill many kids' dreams of attending college. Not only does Warren Moon provide hundreds of thousands of scholarships, but he also organizes trips to circuses, museums and ballets." Melanie Grage, Centerville High School, Centerville, South Dakota
*Above, enthusiasm grew "80 scholarships" to "hundreds of thousands".
"Tom Selleck takes part in a program headed up by Barbara Jordan which is called the Character Counts Coalition, an experimental program being tried in several big cities across the nation. In this program, they speak in schools and put emphasis on self worth, standing up for what they believe and being an individual in society today." Kevin Neubauer, Wallace High School, Wallace, Idaho
MENTOR PROGRAMS
*In the spring of 1994 the American Bar Association (ABA) issued a report called "America's Children at Risk" which prompted the organized bar to get active in addressing children's needs. The ABA intends to encourage more attorneys to provide pro-bono services to children in trouble. It is looking for programs to increase the availability of health care, housing and education to poor children. The ABA expects more lawyers to become involved in outreach programs to rescue kids from gangs and drugs and encourage them to stay in school. Already ABA members are involved in summer job programs, shelters for runaways, adopt-a-school projects as well as a variety of tutoring and mentoring projects.
*In a 1983 report, the Commonwealth Fund, A new York organization, popularized mentoring. Their report stressed the need for young people to have one-on-one relationships with caring adults.
*The Harry Singer Foundation recommends a book recently released by Jossey Bass Publishers in San Francisco and titled The Kindness of Strangers: Adult Mentors, Urban Youth, and the New Voluntarism.
*The author, Marc Freedman, claims that mentoring has become fashionable over the past ten years, and speaks of a 1990 column for the Washington Post, written by Dorothy Gilliam. In it she warned that some people were expecting mentoring to do too much too quickly. Ms. Gilliam explained why it was next to impossible for some teenagers to accept or benefit from help when it was offered: "Some of us expect too much. Some matches were instant successes, but others took time and patience just to develop trust. [Mentoring] can either blossom into a useful social tool, or like a comet that crosses the social scene, plummet and die."
A sociologist at Howard University stressed the need for mentoring in the April 16, 1989 edition of the New York Times. She claimed youngsters left to their own devices in the inner-city" need three or four parents sometimes just to stay on top of what's happening to them every day."
Perhaps you have heard of Eugene Lang. I Have a Dream Foundation was the inspiration of Eugene Lang, a New York businessman who in 1981 challenged sixth graders in East Harlem, New York City, to qualify for college. He promised to pick up the expenses for those who succeeded.
In the excerpt that follows Adam shares some of what he read about Mr. Lang's program:
"In 1981 a self-made millionaire named Eugene Lang strode to the podium of the Harlem elementary school that he graduated from a half-century before to deliver a commencement address to the assembled sixth graders and their families. As he tells it, he impulsively threw away the bootstrap bromides he had prepared and instead offered to pay the college tuition of every student in that class who went on to finish high school. This offer inspired 50 of the 51 student to graduate from high school. This also inspired other benefactors to step forward as well." Adam Parker, DeForest High School, DeForest, Wisconsin
*The ABA Journal, July 1994 spoke of three Portland, Oregon lawyers who isued the same challenge to a group of fifth-graders, known as Dreamers. Like Mr. Lang, the sponsoring lawyers saw that the students in Portland received more than a promise of money. They hired a full-time project coordinator who sees that every student gets individual attention and a chance to participate in all kinds of trips and other enriching activities. Some of these students have spent vacations at Whitman College in Walla Walla Washington. Whitman is one of 100 colleges and universities across the country that have promised full financial-aid to any Dreamer they admit. Additionally the scholarship fund established by the three Portland lawyers will net an additional $1,000 a year to every Dreamer during his college career.
*Sara tells us about another philanthropist:
"In 1978, a retired meteorologist decided to volunteer at an after-school tutoring program in Collier County, Florida. He felt that more could be accomplished in a smaller group and extended an invitation to a handful of kids. He soon had a regular group of four elementary age girls meeting Saturday afternoons for tutoring. They are now successful college graduates and give credit to him for the inspiration that changed their lives. This man proves that one person who cares can make a difference. He taught the necessity and rewards of hard work and discipline."
Sara Peterson, Deer River High School, Deer River, Minnes