Have a Happy AND Safe Holiday weekend!
Archive for August, 2008
Save The Date
25Aug08There’s a lot going on in November - Mark your calendars for these days to support Monroe Harding!
Saturday, November 15th
Join us as we celebrate the end of election season and VOTE FOR LAUGHTER!
Saturday Night Live’s Victoria Jackson
will headline the Dollar General’s Laughter for the Children emceed by Rhori Johnston, with Honorary Chairs Barbara & Kix Brooks
$85.00 per person
$600.00 For a table of 8
Dinner by Logan’s Roadhouse
If you would like to reserve your table, you can email us your name and a contact number
brandontisdale@monroeharding.org
Also remember to reserve your tickets for the Patron’s Party at Harley Davidson on Wednesday, Oct. 8th, sponsored by Snodgrass & King Pediatric Dentistry.
Sunday, November 16th
Ten Thousand Villages invites you to visit their nonprofit fair trade store located at 3900 Hillsboro Pike in Green Hills from 12:00 to 5:00. Ten percent of all sales that day will be donated to Monroe Harding! You do not need a coupon, flyer or even to mention our name - just experience the sights, sounds and textures of intriguing creations handcrafted by skilled artisans. Your purchases will not only help Monroe Harding, but also provide vital, fair income to people in developing countries who would otherwise be unemployed or underemployed.
Celebrate your love for family and friends with beautiful, useful gifts, holiday decorations and home accents from Ten Thousand Villages.
Gold Medals
18Aug08The rules of blogging this week clearly state that you CANNOT have a blog and not mention the Olympics and/or Michael Phelps. I wonder how many times each day that guy’s name pops up on his google alerts! As Bob Costas said, “this is history in the making.” Well it was made and it was something that this country and this generation will remember for a long time. 1976 was a long time ago and it could easily be another 30-some years before there is a new champion clinching more gold medals than anyone else ever has.
Has anyone watched any other parts of the Olympics though? Are they still popular? Going into them, I didn’t think I cared as much as I had in the past. I don’t know if NBC is just making me care or if I really do, but I find myself watching at least a little bit each day. I didn’t even know handball was a sport (and still honestly question it a little bit). Is it a spirit of patriotism or simply awe for the accomplishments?
Its nice to see the accomplishments throughout this two-week period in China. But don’t let go of it when its over. There are a lot of accomplishments in your own backyard everyday. There are people working as hard as Olympic athletes just to learn to walk or pass a class or earn their diplomas or degrees. Let’s cheer them on also!
State Custody
13Aug08When you google State Custody Youth Tennessee, the first thing that pops up is the Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth. This is an independent state agency charged with advocating for and improving the quality of life for TN children and families. There is a lot of information to be found here and you can see how many people are working hard to make the system right for youth. I found one study particularly interesting.
It compared the needs of youth who are referred through juvenile justice to those who had abuse/neglect referrals. We get questioned a lot about where our kids come from. What this is saying is that it doesn’t really matter, when they are in state custody their overall backgrounds are very similar and their needs are nearly identical. Give it a read, I think you’ll find some ‘fun facts’ and maybe some that are a little disturbing.
From a Youth…
08Aug08Let me just begin by saying that I’m angry most days; however since coming to Monroe Harding I’m beginning to learn coping skills to channel that energy into something positive. Everywhere I go, and I do mean everywhere, people tell me how talented I am. Yes, I am an outstanding athlete. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not cocky about it. Let’s just say, I recognize and am grateful for my God-given talents.
The things that constantly frustrates me are:
1) I do not have a place to call home.
2) I have family members but none that are willing to support or show concern for me because of their own dependency issues.
3) I’m getting older, and the chance for permanency is not looking too bright.
It’s really hard for me to accept responsibility for my current circumstances. I have displayed a lot of disruptive behaviors in my past, because it’s difficult to accept love and support from strangers that say they want to help me. I’ve learned to hurt others before they hurt me, and this is where it got me. To a point, where I am now having to learn to become more independent. Sports is my way of releasing all of my pent up emotions. I just wish my family would be able to come see me showcase my skills. I’m hoping and praying daily to stay strong enough to maintain so I can engage in high school athletics. If anyone hears me, say a prayer and come watch me represent Monroe on HHS football and basketball team. That’s what I’m hoping, only if I can maintain……
Updated Wish List
08Aug08Check the Wish List tab for the latest updates.
Help Me Make This Fun
06Aug08Not Having Much Fun
OK, I have to admit, I’m not having a lot of fun writing this blog. Did I mention in the beginning that I nearly failed 7th Grade English because I had to keep a journal? Well, I should’ve. Writing what’s on my mind and hoping that you’ll find it interesting is a HUGE challenge for me. And getting NO feedback makes it tough. At least my 7th Grade English teacher wrote “give more feelings” on each page at the end of the week.
Tough Shell
You’re not going to hurt my feelings. Tell me what you want. Tell me who you want, that way I can convince them to take over for me. Or tell me to just put a topic out there and you guys do all the writing through your responses. I’m not doing this for me, I want this site to be the best it can be and I want you to get what you want out of it.
With that being said, I do want responses to the previous post. Really, what do you say when people ask what MH is?
Visit the BLOG
04Aug08Monroe Harding has an ongoing blog. Click on the tab above (very top, on the right) to stay up to date. It is likely that you’ll hear it here first so check back often!
What is Monroe Harding
04Aug08Tell us what you think
Now’s the time to get interactive. We want to know what you think. How would you describe Monroe Harding? In your response, feel free to include who you are - former resident, current participant, volunteer, board member, staff, etc. Try to make it 2 - 3 short sentences, max.
Imagine someone asked you where you worked or volunteered or lived. Your answer would be Monroe Harding and then they’d say, “well what’s Monroe Harding?” What would you say?
You can’t have a wrong answer here. Well, actually you can - don’t say its a children’s hospital or school. But, for the most part we just want to know what people are saying about Monroe Harding.
BTS
01Aug08End of Summer
When I was a kid, it seemed like summer lasted forever. We got kind of bored shortly after the 4th of July. We’d seen every movie that we were allowed to see and our swim suits had faded to nearly white by being at the pool 5 hours each day. There were no more holidays to look forward to and vacations were done.
Now it seems like the summer just flies by. This could be partly because of retail marketing. Maybe its not quite time to have out Halloween costumes and some people may still want to buy shorts. But surprisingly, the retailers are right on the mark with their Back To School campaigns. The ‘balanced calendar’ kids have been back in school for two weeks. The traditional school year will be starting in about two weeks. It really is time to buy your new backpacks and jeans. And thankfully in TN we can do that tax free this weekend.
Sending 35 Teens BTS
Right now we have about 35 young men who live with us in the residential program. They have a lot of needs at this time of year. Of course they will need their backpacks and school supplies also. But they don’t need jeans. With the Metro schools dress code, the guys need khaki pants. They also need polo shirts in Hillsboro High’s green or gold! Five days worth of green polo shirts for 35 guys - that’s a lot of green.
Academically Speaking
Its also time to think about tutoring. Each person who volunteers to work directly with our young people has to go through a background check and orientation training. You can become a tutor anytime during the year, but to get started at the beginning of the school year, now’s the time to get the ball rolling. If you think you can tutor, you can. You do not need to know AP Calculus or 4th year Spanish. Most of the students are not at that level of education but even if they are, your commitment to sitting with them for an hour and encouraging them to study and practice is what’s most important.
Making it easy
If you want to donate or volunteer, click here to contact Lindsay Kear. She’s our volunteer coordinator and is also in charge of donated items so she can help with both. Get involved!
