Post by BrianSullivan on Feb 2, 2010 10:55:15 GMT -5
newstranscript.gmnews.com/news/2010-02-03/Front_Page/Y_club_helps_teens_learn_to_be_leaders.html
Y club helps teens learn to be leaders
BY CLARE MARIE CELANO Staff Writer
FREEHOLD — The YMCA of Western Monmouth County’s goal is to build strong kids, strong families and strong communities. In the process the YMCA is also building future leaders.
The YMCA Community Center on Center Street, Freehold Borough, sponsors the Leader’s Club of Freehold and offers a perfect example of this goal in action. The club focuses on the development of youth through community service, team-building activities, and leadership development exercises.
The group meets weekly at the community center.
Program supervisor Shavonda Hickman, 21, said the purpose of the club is to offer community service and “to inspire our youth to become better leaders in our community.”
Outreach Director Mel O’Neal brought the idea to Freehold Borough.
Club secretary Chloe Williams, 16, a junior at Freehold High School, said she was not keen on the idea of participating when O’Neal mentioned the club to her a few years ago.
“It wasn’t appealing to me and I really didn’t want to do it,” she said.
However, the young woman attended a Leader’s Club rally in Delaware, albeit reluctantly, and changed her attitude about the initiative. She believes her attendance at the rally led her to a much better life path.
“I went (to the rally) kicking and screaming. I remember a lot of singing and a lot of happy people at the rally,” Chloe said. “By the time I left the rally, I had made some new friends and picked up some leadership skills.”
Kason Jackson, 16, a student at the Freehold Regional High School District’s Fine and Performing Arts Center at Howell High School, takes care of the club’s finances and helps to arrange fundraisers.
Jackson was excited about joining the Leader’s Club. He said the club allows young adults to be themselves.
“That’s the whole idea, to be open and to be yourself,” he said.
The club holds fundraisers to help defray the cost of attending various rallies and leadership programs that aim to promote and enhance the personal growth and socials skills of young people in order to develop leaders who will be a positive force in their communities.
The club members also attend career groups where they learn skills necessary to pursue careers inside and outside the YMCA.
Hickman said enrollment in the Leader’s Club has been growing every year. One meeting a month is a less structured “fun night” with a movie and games.
One project the members are working on now is called a “wax museum.” In honor of Black History Month (February), the club members will choose a noted African-American and dress up as that person. They will conduct research about the individual and write a script about the person’s life.
“When people come up to look at them as they stand dressed up like statues, they will have to put a quarter in a container we will have placed next to each ‘figure’ to activate the ‘figure’ and then the (club member) will say the script and tell about who they are,” Hickman explained.
Stacey Sunnerville, 16, a sophomore at Freehold High School, has been a member of the YMCA since he was 13 and has been a Leader’s Club member for three years. He attends weekly meetings in order to be a role model for the younger members.
“I made the commitment to be someone they can look up to,” Stacey said.
Katelyn Ortiz, 15, of Freehold Borough, has been a member of the YMCA since the sixth grade and is one of the founders of the Leader’s Club. The freshman at Freehold High School wants to set a good example for the younger children.
Aniza Henriquez, 16, of Freehold Borough, a junior at Freehold High School, joined because of her friend. She has only been in the Leader’s Club for a few months and looks forward to coming and helping out at the meetings She also helps out with homework and also works on the club’s website fliers.
Michael Dellechiaie, 12, a student at the Freehold Intermediate School, joined the Leader’s Club a few months ago after learning about it from a friend. He belongs to other programs in the YMCA and said he wanted to check this one out.
“I like it,” he said. “We do activities and things and there are people to help you with your homework if you need it.”
Everina Powell, 16, of Freehold Borough, is a new member of the Leader’s Club. Everina said she enjoys working with young children and comes to the YMCA Community Center to help out. She is hoping to pursue a teaching career.
O’Neal said the YMCA Leader’s Club is a unique place where “kids have a chance to be leaders while still enjoying being a kid.”
The young people engage in activities rooted in the four core values of the YMCA: Caring, Honesty, Responsibility and Respect.
“Community service and fundraising are the two things that the Leader’s Club spends 75 percent of its time on. The leaders spend the remaining 25 percent of their time enjoying recreation,” O’Neal said. “The YMCA Leader’s Club is a place where kids do not have to try to be someone they are not. Each member is accepted for who they are. The YMCA Leader’s Club is a society in which each member of the society is well respected.”
Y club helps teens learn to be leaders
BY CLARE MARIE CELANO Staff Writer
FREEHOLD — The YMCA of Western Monmouth County’s goal is to build strong kids, strong families and strong communities. In the process the YMCA is also building future leaders.
The YMCA Community Center on Center Street, Freehold Borough, sponsors the Leader’s Club of Freehold and offers a perfect example of this goal in action. The club focuses on the development of youth through community service, team-building activities, and leadership development exercises.
The group meets weekly at the community center.
Program supervisor Shavonda Hickman, 21, said the purpose of the club is to offer community service and “to inspire our youth to become better leaders in our community.”
Outreach Director Mel O’Neal brought the idea to Freehold Borough.
Club secretary Chloe Williams, 16, a junior at Freehold High School, said she was not keen on the idea of participating when O’Neal mentioned the club to her a few years ago.
“It wasn’t appealing to me and I really didn’t want to do it,” she said.
However, the young woman attended a Leader’s Club rally in Delaware, albeit reluctantly, and changed her attitude about the initiative. She believes her attendance at the rally led her to a much better life path.
“I went (to the rally) kicking and screaming. I remember a lot of singing and a lot of happy people at the rally,” Chloe said. “By the time I left the rally, I had made some new friends and picked up some leadership skills.”
Kason Jackson, 16, a student at the Freehold Regional High School District’s Fine and Performing Arts Center at Howell High School, takes care of the club’s finances and helps to arrange fundraisers.
Jackson was excited about joining the Leader’s Club. He said the club allows young adults to be themselves.
“That’s the whole idea, to be open and to be yourself,” he said.
The club holds fundraisers to help defray the cost of attending various rallies and leadership programs that aim to promote and enhance the personal growth and socials skills of young people in order to develop leaders who will be a positive force in their communities.
The club members also attend career groups where they learn skills necessary to pursue careers inside and outside the YMCA.
Hickman said enrollment in the Leader’s Club has been growing every year. One meeting a month is a less structured “fun night” with a movie and games.
One project the members are working on now is called a “wax museum.” In honor of Black History Month (February), the club members will choose a noted African-American and dress up as that person. They will conduct research about the individual and write a script about the person’s life.
“When people come up to look at them as they stand dressed up like statues, they will have to put a quarter in a container we will have placed next to each ‘figure’ to activate the ‘figure’ and then the (club member) will say the script and tell about who they are,” Hickman explained.
Stacey Sunnerville, 16, a sophomore at Freehold High School, has been a member of the YMCA since he was 13 and has been a Leader’s Club member for three years. He attends weekly meetings in order to be a role model for the younger members.
“I made the commitment to be someone they can look up to,” Stacey said.
Katelyn Ortiz, 15, of Freehold Borough, has been a member of the YMCA since the sixth grade and is one of the founders of the Leader’s Club. The freshman at Freehold High School wants to set a good example for the younger children.
Aniza Henriquez, 16, of Freehold Borough, a junior at Freehold High School, joined because of her friend. She has only been in the Leader’s Club for a few months and looks forward to coming and helping out at the meetings She also helps out with homework and also works on the club’s website fliers.
Michael Dellechiaie, 12, a student at the Freehold Intermediate School, joined the Leader’s Club a few months ago after learning about it from a friend. He belongs to other programs in the YMCA and said he wanted to check this one out.
“I like it,” he said. “We do activities and things and there are people to help you with your homework if you need it.”
Everina Powell, 16, of Freehold Borough, is a new member of the Leader’s Club. Everina said she enjoys working with young children and comes to the YMCA Community Center to help out. She is hoping to pursue a teaching career.
O’Neal said the YMCA Leader’s Club is a unique place where “kids have a chance to be leaders while still enjoying being a kid.”
The young people engage in activities rooted in the four core values of the YMCA: Caring, Honesty, Responsibility and Respect.
“Community service and fundraising are the two things that the Leader’s Club spends 75 percent of its time on. The leaders spend the remaining 25 percent of their time enjoying recreation,” O’Neal said. “The YMCA Leader’s Club is a place where kids do not have to try to be someone they are not. Each member is accepted for who they are. The YMCA Leader’s Club is a society in which each member of the society is well respected.”