End 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!
You are right, when working with young people a common sense approach to background checks will not work. At Monroe Harding, we have extensive, state required checks for each mentor and tutor who work directly with the youth.