Mentoring Spotlight: the YMCA

 

Mentoring is an easy way to make a real difference in the life of a child. This month, we are spotlighting various mentoring organizations in order to encourage everyone to share their knowledge and love to instill Dignity & Respect in the next generation.

This month, in honor of Mentoring Month, YMCAs across the country are recruiting for their Building Futures Mentoring Program.

Our Building Futures Mentoring Program is one of our most rewarding services, and we are always in need of trained mentor volunteers.

We have so many great kids, ages 6 to 18 in your community, who are at risk due to low self-esteem, social isolation, family problems, etc.,—who just need a friend, a role model, a hero. A person who can spend a little time sharing interests, listening and ultimately raising a child’s self-confidence and outlook on life. You would be amazed at what an afternoon at the ball game or a trip to the park can do for a child in need of adult companionship and guidance.

Learn more about a YMCA program near you here: http://www.ymca.net/be-involved/

Mentoring Spotlight: Junior Achievement

 

 

Mentoring is an easy way to make a real difference in the life of a child. This month, we are spotlighting various mentoring organizations in order to encourage everyone to share their knowledge and love to instill Dignity & Respect in the next generation.

This week we are showcasing Junior Achievement. Junior Achievement is the world’s largest organization dedicated to developing career readiness and a healthy work ethic in young people, as well as encouraging enthusiasm about entrepreneurship.

Junior Achievement programs help prepare young people for the real world by showing them how to generate wealth and effectively manage it, how to create jobs which make their communities more robust, and how to apply entrepreneurial thinking to the workplace. Students put these lessons into action and learn the value of contributing to their communities.

JA’s unique approach allows volunteers from the community to deliver our curriculum while sharing their experiences with students. Embodying the heart of JA, our 382,637 classroom volunteers transform the key concepts of our lessons into a message that inspires and empowers students to believe in themselves, showing them they can make a difference in the world.

If you would like to learn more, check out their site here: http://www.ja.org

MLK Day of Service!

 

Martin Luther King Day is today! Why not join the national movement to use this day as a National Day of Service! Don’t know where to start? Here are some helpful resources courtesy of http://mlkday.gov:

UPMC is hosting a MLK Day of Service today to be held at The Education Partnership (281 Corliss Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15220). Teachers from our 14 participating schools are scheduled to visit The Education Partnership facility during the last two weeks in January to pick up approximately $400 of school and classroom supplies - at no cost. Volunteers will stock the Resource Center full of school supplies. Supplies support schools where 70% of the students are on the National School Lunch Program (free or reduced lunch).

To learn more, please contact the UPMC Center for Inclusion at             412-864-3582      for more information or email inclusion@upmc.edu.

Mentoring Spotlight: Big Brothers, Big Sisters

Mentoring is a simple way to make a formative impact on a child. This month, we are spotlighting various mentoring organizations in order to encourage everyone to share their knowledge and love to instill Dignity & Respect in the next generation.

This week, we are showcasing Big Brothers, Big Sisters. For more than 100 years, this organizations has matched children to mentors that have encouraged their charges to grow and thrive:

“Being a Big Brother or Big Sister is one of the most enjoyable things you’ll ever do. Not to mention, one of the most fulfilling. You have the opportunity to help shape a child’s future for the better by empowering him or her to achieve. And the best part is, it’s actually a lot of fun. You and your Little can share the kinds of activities you already like to do.

Play sports together. Go on a hike. Read books. Eat a pizza with extra anchovies. Or just give some advice and inspiration. Whatever it is you enjoy, odds are you’ll enjoy it even more with your Little—and you’ll be making a life-changing impact.”

If you would like to become a Big Brother or Big Sister, you can find more information about programs in your area here: http://www.bbbs.org/site/c.9iILI3NGKhK6F/b.5962345/k.E123/Volunteer_to_start_something.htm

Greater Pittsburgh Dignity & Respect Champions for December: Ranny and Jay Ferguson

 

Congratulations to Ranny and Jay Ferguson, this month’s Dignity & Respect Champions! Both strong advocates for the community, Ranny and Jay Ferguson work tirelessly to spread the notion that everyone deserves dignity and respect. They believe that an individual must value themselves in order to value others.

In November, Jay became chairman of Fifth Third Bank of western Pennsylvania, where for eight years he served as president of the western Pennsylvania market. In addition, Jay currently serves on the boards of directors of the Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children and UPMC St. Margaret Memorial Hospital, where he is vice chairman and treasurer of the Hospital's foundation.

Ranny retired after teaching at the University of Pittsburgh and The Ellis School, and is now a full-time community advocate. She volunteers with many organizations such as the Race for the Cure, The Children's Home of Pittsburgh, and Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, among others.

Do you know an individual who makes a positive impact and promotes an environment of inclusion? If so, nominate the person in your life you feel has made a difference for the Dignity & Respect Champion Award!

National Mentoring Month

January is National Mentoring Month! This month, we invite our friends and supporters to join us in celebrating mentoring as well as the mentors that shaped us into champions of Dignity & Respect. Please share your stories of how you have witnessed mentoring improving the lives of young people around you. Or feel free to share your story of how a mentor helped you become the person you are today. A mentor can be a teacher, a colleague, even a parent or a friend. We want to hear from you, so join us as we celebrate mentors everywhere!

And if you are looking for other ways to help celebrate this month, check out these ideas courtesy of nationalmentoringmonth.org:

1. Become a mentor in your community.

2. Tell five friends about National Mentoring Month.

3. Think about the mentors in your life and post a tribute to them online

4. Go to YouTube on Thank Your Mentor Day (January 26^th) and post a video

5. Research and learn more about the role mentoring has to help children succeed academically

Read the whole list of ideas here: http://www.nationalmentoringmonth.org/

Make a Resolution to Spread Dignity & Respect All Year Long!

Happy New Year to you and your family! Are you trying to motivate yourself to change your life? Are you going to make a greater effort this year to practice the Tips and spread Dignity & Respect? If you are making a resolution this year, you might find it difficult to keep as the year progresses. Here are some great tips to keep you on the straight and narrow path all year long:

1. Create a Plan
Setting a goal without formulating a plan is merely wishful thinking. In order for your resolution to have resolve, (as the word "resolution" implies), it must translate into clear steps that can be put into action. A good plan will tell you A) What to do next and B) What are all of the steps required to complete the goal.

2. Create Your Plan IMMEDIATELY
If you're like most people, then you'll have a limited window of opportunity during the first few days of January to harness your motivation. After that, most people forget their resolutions completely.

3. Write Down Your Resolution and Plan
… commit your resolution and plan to writing someplace, such as a notebook or journal.

4. Think "Year Round," Not Just New Year's
Nothing big gets accomplished in one day. Resolutions are set in one day, but accomplished with a hundred tiny steps that happen throughout the year. New Year's resolutions should be nothing more than a starting point. You must develop a ritual or habit for revisiting your plan.

Check out the full article with even more tips here: http://www.mygoals.com/about/NewYearsTips.html