Smart Futures eMentoring Features in Pittsburgh Tribune- Review!

UPMC enlisted for e-mentoring effort
By Rick Wills, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, January 14, 2010


Dave Mosey said he thinks there are more teens in need of mentors than mentors with time.

"Being a face-to-face mentor is often complicated. There are even legal and security issues involved when you are dealing with underage kids," said Mosey, executive director of SmartFutures, a Downtown nonprofit that runs an online mentoring program.

SmartFutures got a big boost Wednesday, when UPMC -- the state's second largest employer after Wal-Mart -- volunteered to promote e-mentoring among its 50,000 employees.

"They have a wonderful program. It's a great opportunity to engage our professional people with students in the area," said Dawnita Wilson, chief of staff for UPMC's Center of Inclusion in Health Care.

The program aims to match thousands of high school students with UPMC employees over the Internet and to help them plan for their future.

Paula Balogh, a nurse practitioner at UPMC's Hillman Cancer Center, said she finds mentoring rewarding on several levels.

"I can talk to kids through the computer in a very non-threatening way. I feel like I can help students navigate the system and set goals. And I can tell them about how I started out with nothing," she said.

UPMC also has enlisted the support of partner organizations, including Community College of Allegheny County and Bidwell Training Center to expand the mentor pool.

The effort targets 10th graders, Mosey said.

"That seems like a good age. Senior year is too late to start planning what to do after high school," he said.

Each student will receive a personalized college and career plan, created with his or her mentor.

SmartFutures, which was founded in 2005, offers several educational and career-related online programs including Keys2Work, PA eMentoring, My Career Journey and Financial Literacy 101

MLK Day of Service Event!

Recently, the Center for Inclusion in Health Care, along with Pittsburgh Cares at the Duquesne-West Mifflin Boys and Girls Club held a youth orientated activity to commerate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr and also to discuss ideas of how we can all work together to make the world a better place.

The event was even picked up by the McKeesport Daily News! See the article and some pics from the event below!

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Young, old ponder modern vision of Dr. King’s dream
Buzz up!By Eric Slagle, MCKEESPORT DAILY NEWS
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
E-Edition


If Martin Luther King Jr. were still alive, what would his dream be today?

Children, teens and adults taking part in a celebration of the day honoring the slain civil rights leader at Duquesne-West Mifflin Boys and Girls Club on Monday all were asked that question in one form or another.

In an exercise called "I Have a Dream, Too," students recorded their ideas about how humanity could work together to make the world a better place.

"I have a dream that one day we'll all stop fighting and get along," said S'myiah Adams, 5, of Duquesne.

"I have a dream that people won't be talked about because of their skin color," wrote Alexis Berry, 11, also of Duquesne.

Carrick High School student Jenna Aleski, 14, wrote that her dream is a world where "everyone will be equal. Everyone will feel loved. Everyone will have a home."

There were hundreds of other inspiring answers offered at the event, which in addition to being attended by club members, drew students and adults from all over the Pittsburgh region through the volunteer organization Pittsburgh Cares.

This is the first year the club held an MLK Day activity. Patricia A. Bluett, who is executive director of the local Boys and Girls Club branch, said she is pleased the club could host such an event.

"It's a chance for kids in our community to get together with kids from outside the community and learn there's a world outside of Duquesne," she said. "It's time for us all to start working together."

Pittsburgh Cares Project Manager Holly McGraw said the youth club in Duquesne was a natural choice for her when she was looking for a place to hold the youth-oriented activity. Having worked with Bluett and the club on other occasions, she said of the director, "She's always welcoming and willing to open her doors to new faces."

Will Barmen, 10, who is a student at St. Edmunds Academy in Squirrel Hill and was at the club with the philanthropic Pittsburgh Social Venture Partners group, said he was inspired by the message of community service being promoted by the day's activities.

He said he'd remember it later this year when his school holds its annual clean-up event.

"I've learned we can work together to be a better community," he said.

Candi Castleberry-Singleton, of UPMC's Center for Inclusion in Health Care, was at the event encouraging participants to use club computers to pledge their support for treating colleagues and members of the community with dignity and respect in honor of King.

Justin Portis of Pittsburgh Cares was overseeing an event for older students to create a public service announcement honoring King's legacy that will be shown in area high schools and on his organization's Web site at www.pittsburghcares.org.

Portis said the program at the youth club was beneficial because it instills service values in children at an age when many still are too young to get involved in hands-on volunteer activities in the community.

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/dailynewsmckeesport/s_662914.html

Make Dignity and Respect part of what you do everyday.

"Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?'"
-- Martin Luther King Jr.


Have you taken the pledge to support Dignity and Respect? In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day we are inviting you to take our Dignity and Respect Pledge again or for the first time.


About the Campaign

Dignity and respect are crucial to building and sustaining an environment in which everyone feels included, valued, and appreciated. Sometimes it's the smallest things that have the biggest impact. Join us in our Dignity and Respect Campaign by making sure that inclusion is at the core of what you do every day

Here's how it works: Every day we have the opportunity to test our commitment to dignity and respect through our behavior. The tips below encourage us all to be mindful of our interactions with others and to commit to treating others the way they want to be treated. By following the daily recommendations, we can all work to achieve a more inclusive community.

You can take the pledge by visiting www.dignityandrespectcampaign.com or by clicking here