LearnmoreMN Blog

The power of volunteering

By Tiffany Hasbrouck, February guest blogger

Last spring, a few individuals at Deloitte & Touche LLP, including myself, got together to commence a volunteer program to help students with areas such as resume writing, interview skills, and college and career searching (you know, items you need to know, but not necessarily “subjects” in school). After months of tweaking the curriculum, we had established what we thought would be a segway for students about to enter the “real” world.

You see, I came from a volunteering background. Meals on Wheels, Canned Food Drives, and Halloween Parties for the little kids were second nature growing up. I love to help people in any way I can. However, I was a bit nervous, as to how individuals (some older than myself) were going to perceive random people coming into their classroom to teach them “life skills.” This was new to me.

How WRONG I was!

My most memorable experience with teaching our curriculum was week six “College & Job Search.” I entered the first MN school, noting students were very diverse. In fact, for the most part, English was possibly the third or fourth language spoken. We proceeded to teach the students how to use the MCIS program, which was a segway to learning all about how interests translated to majors, careers, salary, and success. Most of the students were very responsive! They couldn’t believe how helpful and interesting this was.

However, there was one student who didn’t perceive this well. You could see that “Johnny” thought all of this was irrelevant to him. He thought he didn’t like anything that would translate into a major or a career. So I approached Johnny. After taking the time to sit and talk with him, I learned that he loved music, cars, and working with his hands. But what he didn’t understand, prior to our talk, was that there were MULTIPLE successful majors and careers for him. Yes, he might not have been the type that was going to sit at a desk job from 9-5, but that’s OKAY! I told Johnny about my close friend who reminded me exactly of him. He wasn’t very interested in a desk job, but when he found that a school close to Minneapolis was a place for majors in auto mechanics, with specialty in car detailing he was set.

Johnny and I searched the MCIS system for interests of his, in which he noted over 5 different majors and schools that would allow him to work in a field he had a passion for. What a crazy thought to him! The hour that we had together seemed to put a spark in Johnny's attitude and a skip in his step. How could this be? There WAS a place for him out there? What I was delighted to learn was that Johnny even applied for one of the schools that we had found that day!

It never ceases to amaze me the power that volunteering has to help others. I think it is so positive that our MN schools are allowing organizations and groups to come into the classroom and try to further enhance and help students one at a time.

Preparing young women for success

By Debra Pridgen, October guest blogger

My mother has repeatedly stated to me throughout my life that, “experience is the greatest teacher.” I have the privilege of working for an organization that provides a vast array of experiential learning opportunities for girls and women. Yes, it is the Girl Scouts. I was a Girl Scout as a girl and then being a mother of four lovely daughters, my past Girl Scouting experience came full circle to be shared in my role as the leader for them and many of their girl friends. How time flies; I’ve been employed with the Girl Scouts for 12 years now.

Some people ask why there is a need for an all girl organization. Nearly a century ago, Girl Scout founder Juliette Gordon Low recognized that developing girls’ leadership abilities was critical for ensuring they would be the positive change-makers of the future. Since Low’s time, the world has changed dramatically. This ever more complex and uncertain world clearly requires ongoing experience, education, and leadership of a new kind.

Recent research shows that girls want opportunities where they can learn by doing and have cooperative learning experiences. Girl Scouts provides these opportunities and helps girls develop skills and a strong sense of self. When coupled with academic learning and positive experiences in school, girls are well-prepared to succeed.

We know about the power of programs like Girl Scouts that support young people. I’d like to hear your thoughts about how we can do more:

—How do we expand opportunities to support kids beyond school?
—How can more volunteers and mentors get involved?

Focusing on the positive

By Jenny Wright, July guest blogger

When we challenge ourselves to take an approach to young people that builds on strengths and opportunities rather than focusing on problems and deficits, wonderful things can happen. Each year we take our Beacons youth from eight Minneapolis Public Schools out to a Citywide Youth Leadership Camp Retreat at YMCA Camp Iduhapi. Youth learn leadership skills, practice teamwork through high ropes course challenges, and plan service projects to complete back in their neighborhoods and schools. 

There is one story that we hear again and again. It goes something like this: 

The youth development workers from the Beacon Center always choose at least one young person for the Leadership Retreat who is not usually viewed as a “leader.”  These young people might struggle with academics and behavior in the classroom, but the Beacons staff has identified them as having leadership potential in the afterschool program setting.  Their teachers may ask, “Are you sure you want to bring that child up to a camp about leadership?” The Beacons staff insist that yes, they do, and the child attends the retreat. At camp the young person hears over an over again that they ARE a leader and they are given opportunities to practice. When the young person returns from camp, the teacher seeks out the Beacons staff days later to say, “What happened at that retreat? Something is totally different about the way this child is behaving in my classroom.”

We know from this annual experience that sometimes just the act of telling a child that they ARE a leader can open up a world of possibility. I believe the same is true of telling them that they can be learners. When I describe the work we do in our Beacon Centers in the Minneapolis Public Schools, I say we “engage youth as leaders and learners.” This is work that every one of us can contribute to. Young people need to have multiple people and places in their lives where these messages are reinforced and where they are given opportunities to practice and develop new skills. By setting high expectations for all young people starting with the belief that EVERY child has the capacity to lead and to learn, we can change the outcomes in our schools, neighborhoods, and society.

But what can I do?

Posted by moderator

Getting more young people on the path to college is good for them and for our state. "But what can I do," you ask? Just about everyone can do something. Here are some examples from the inspirations section of the LearnmoreMN Web site of what individuals, companies and communities are doing.

A group of Deloitte employees take out time from their corporate days to work with Wellstone International High School students as a part of the Achieve! Career and College Initiative. At 17 to 21 years old and with limited English language skills, the Wellstone students welcome the chance to learn about colleges, interviewing, resume writing, and job searching from Deloitte’s experienced professionals. A Deloitte policy of allocating 40 hours a year to volunteer projects bolsters their efforts. Read this story

The City of St. Paul’s Circulator bus provides a simple, but highly effective solution to the problem of connecting children to learning opportunities throughout the neighborhood. Circulator buses provide free rides for young people to libraries, recreation centers, community centers and non-profits. The buses are part of the city's Second Shift initiative. Read this story

Bengo Mrema has volunteered with Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) since 2001. It took him a while to earn the trust of his little brother, but his positive, consistent presence made a difference. Mrema found creative ways to include academics in their meetings and introduced ideas about college and other post-secondary education options. Mrema says his unconditional commitment has paid off. Read the story

What do you do, or what can you imagine doing? We welcome your stories and ideas.

From the Outside In

By Willy Tully, February 2008 Guest Blogger

If it truly takes a village to raise a child, then how in the world do we expect our youth to succeed without a comprehensive approach to education?  Comprehensive…that sounds difficult. It doesn’t have to be.

I work for a large mentoring organization, but I don’t work formally on mentoring — I connect the youth in the program with postsecondary opportunities, placing an emphasis on higher education. As an organization, we strive to provide the highest quality in mentoring to both the youth and adults that come to our door. But the fact of the matter is that anyone can be, and realistically is a mentor in their everyday life. From teachers to preachers to parents, high school counselors to college admissions counselors to custodians, daily interaction with children is an opportunity — an opportunity to impart some amount of knowledge, build confidence, and fulfill the obligation that adults have to invest positively in youth. 

An Investment — Education is the Best
Perhaps we can agree that the greatest method by which an individual might enrich their circumstance is education. Beyond the simple yet hugely important informal stuff that occurs in a mentoring relationship, every mentor should be equipped with the tools to discuss higher education with a child. Collectively we know how to do this, but individually we have a need and an opportunity to learn more.

Each of us plays a role as a mentor. By sharing our experiences with one another, together we can improve our community from the ground up. We can all start by asking, “how can I change a child’s life today, and what do I have to say?”