Making
a positive impact in someone’s life can
be a transforming and exhilarating experience.
As excited sounds of “Bingo!” were heard
around the room and as colorful door hangers
were proudly created and displayed, the
volunteers from Cornerstone Systems knew
they had participated in a special event.
They knew that the morning’s activities
had indeed made an impact on the visiting
teens from Youth Villages as well as the
elderly residents at the Mid-South Health
and Rehab Center. Youth Villages 1st “Impact
Day”, held October 5, 2007, was a complete
success.
Adult
volunteers from several companies joined
teenagers from Youth Villages to help
various non-profit agencies around the
county. Tasks included washing dogs at
the Humane Society, shelving food at the
Food Bank warehouse, cutting grass and
cleaning yards, washing windows and much
more. “Impact Day is a way to expose them
to some real needs in our community and
help our children personally experience
the power of helping others” said event
organizer and Youth Villages Community
Relations Manager Crissy Smith. |
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The
volunteers from Cornerstone Systems (Sheryl
Barton, Leann Sowell, David Vatter, Martha Winstead,
Priscilla Smith, Keisha Williams, Dawn Clark,
and Denise Ivy) spent their morning with 10
girls (age 14-18) from Youth Villages at the
Mid South Health and Rehab Center playing Bingo
and making crafts with the elderly residents.
The program is a way for the teens to learn
how to give back to the community…how to make
an impact. “Those girls are currently in a state
where they need help and they were put into
a situation to see others that needed their
help” said Cornerstone’s Sheryl Barton. One
of the teen girls got on the microphone and
called out the numbers for Bingo. Others, including
Cornerstone’s Leann Sowell helped an elderly
blind man play Bingo. “He doesn’t get the opportunity
to play without help so I was glad I could assist”
said Leann. “The kids were very excited after
the fact” said Youth Villages’ Crissy Smith,
“and have said they learned a lot and felt really
good about the work they did.”
Youth
Villages’ commitment to helping troubled children
and their families spans 20 years and includes
a comprehensive array of programs and services:
home-based counseling, residential treatment,
treatment foster care, adoption services, community-based
services, transitional living services, family-based
care for children with developmental disabilities,
specialized crisis services and intensive residential
treatment. Nearly 1,300 counselors, teachers
and skilled support staff provide Youth Villages’
services in 41 locations throughout Alabama,
Arkansas, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee,
Texas and Washington, DC. Youth Villages is
a non-profit organization, a member of the Child
Welfare League and a member agency of the United
Way of the Mid-South.
www.youthvillages.org |
