Every once in a lifetime or maybe several times in your lifetime, something spectacular happens. It's usually not complicated and is borne through collaboration and unity. Change is generally precipitated by a season of brokenness; folks get so fed up with their plight and finally create action that will cause positive change. Spectacular is often simple, though maybe unique. After it happens many people are left wondering why they hadn't thought of the idea first. As parents, teachers, mentors and service providers, we are 100% in charge of creating once in a lifetime opportunities for our children. Buffalo is embarking on such a once in a lifetime as this. The City landscape will be brightened with new opportunities for children. Mentoring is as old as Adam and Eve. Mentors have long been known to be world changers in our lives. We know that mentoring works. Why will it become a force that can change our schools and our children? The answer is simple unity for a common cause - children. Mentor Force is a collaboration of Mentors who become teammates with teachers to help reinforce the study skills needed for a satisfactory education. We go right to the core of Character Education, helping students deal with social and emotional issues that are barriers to learning. Our team approach to mentoring helps to raise grades, reduce suspensions and minimize behavioral problems. The brains of our young people are largely formed through experience. The goal of Mentor Force is to provide every student in the Buffalo Schools with a compassionate Mentor. Compassion gives birth to initiative. A child with initiative will learn how to create their own opportunities. Mentor Force is all of us. In the next few weeks we will reveal a new paradigm of mentoring. It's a program based on unity in the belief that "All Children Are Gifted." Everyone can and should be involved. You may not be able to mentor "one-on-one" but you can support community organizations. You can help initiate, encourage and foster the collaboration of Mentor/Provider organizations. In the next few weeks, we will outline a plan of action that is already taking place in a Buffalo School. Get involved - make change! Thanks for your time. Go do something nice for somebody. Each new school year begins with a fresh start and sometimes fresh faces. This morning at Buffalo School #3 we witnessed the rare combination of fresh faces combined with folks who have unselfishly served the students at School #3 for many years. The new Principal is Mrs. (soon to be Dr.) Sharon Brown. YWAP had the pleasure of being with Mrs. Brown last year at Buffalo School #6 in their After School Program. In one of our most pleasant camping experiences ever, boys from Mrs. Brown's school attended Boy Scout Camp twice. Chanda Ramirez is a rock star who represents Catholic Charities and the Say Yes Program. She arranged a meeting of Service Providers along with School Administrators. Here is a copy of the email that I just sent to Chanda: Thanks Chanda for a great meeting. Because of what you have done, I believe our goal of ensuring that "every child in Buffalo has a mentor" can be modeled at School #3. What gives me that hope is the folks that you assembled this morning. Each of them brings a piece of life changing compassion that students need to become emotionally and academically successful. Thanks for all you do, we appreciate you. Bob & Linda "Find new ways, in as many ways, in more excellent ways, on all of your days, to show love." Bob Kuebler YWAP Director Youth With A Purpose In School & After School In The Mountains & In The Hood "All Children Are Gifted" 157 Locust Street Buffalo, New York 14204 716-830-8240 http://www.youthwithapurpose.org/ It's going to be a great School year! YWAP activities seem to slow down a bit as summer wanes. Folks are taking last minute vacations and getting ready to go back to school. The YWAP Directors took a vacation that including traveling in our gas savvy Civic and sleeping in our leaky,tarp covered canvass tent. We kept in shape for our Wilderness Program by reaching 6 US High points.We also had the privilege of sharing Acts 2:38 and a message of hope with over 300 inmates at Piedmont Correctional Facility in North Carolina. Last night I was at our Youth Center in the basement of Holy Cross Church on Buffalo's Lower West Side. Under the Directorship of Sharon Tell, many kids are spending a few hours smiling, snacking and getting exercise. Our After School Program Director Sharon Tell is making a big difference in the community with her unbridled and compassionate love for children. Thank you Sharon for bringing your unique talents to the children of Buffalo. Your name was bandied about today with honor at the Buffalo School #3 Providers Meeting. They miss you and speak highly of you. If you would like to help, we could use some cleaning supplies for our kitchen area along with paper plates, paper towels, garbage bags, a mop and bucket. The YWAP Phone is 716-830-8240. Thanks for your time. Go do something nice for somebody. I loved Christian as one of my sons. He didn't deserve what was handed to him. Mentoring is an antidote to the disease of teenage murder. Christian was just beginning to grow through mentoring relationships when he died. I will keep him alive through our efforts to mentor life into as many young people as possible. Please join us if you have a desire to be a part of Mentor Force.
The recent teenage murders in Buffalo have served to sprinkle some salt on old wounds. Kids have been being killed on the streets of Buffalo for many years. I believe Buffalo is on the verge of turning the corner on violence among our young people. Our mentoring program began 10 years ago on 7th St on the Lower West Side. The Buffalo News used to call 7th St "World War III" because of all the shootings in our area. We lost our share of young guys. A heavy Police presence along with mentoring programs have changed this part of the City. Improvements are still needed and they continue. We believe in building a Mentor Force to collaborate with the Police Force. Removing illegal guns is a good answer. A greater Police presence is a better answer. Building a Mentor Force is the best answer. Whatever anybody can do to rally around the families of these young men - please go the extra mile and show them that they are valued. We need a Mentor Force in the streets and schools with folks who want to form relationships with young folks. Many well meaning people want to hit the streets and pray and that's good. Prayer comes in many ways. It's supposed to be unceasing and the only way to do that is to live it by showing love. Go play basketball, sing a rap song, take some kids camping, feed them a healthy meal, teach them how to start a business, go to their school events, let them see the ears on your heart. Going door to door means going heart to heart. Thanks for your time. Go do something nice for somebody. JLYASDW [email protected] Christian's name was on my Father's Day card. We used to do anti-bullying assemblies with his sister Roxy and cousin Alex. They were making a big difference in kids lives. I believe they saved some lives in the process. He was killed while riding a bike. there are many guys in cemeteries who deserved better. Me need more mentors and less grave diggers.
Nearing the end of Summer, the YWAP Staff engages in a slight relaxation. We operate year round and we need a chance to recharge our batteries and recover our strength. We thought we'd take a few moments to share our hearts with you. School starts in a few weeks. The YWAP After School Program will open for our 12th year. Our In School Mentoring Program will visit at least 20 different School Districts. We Mentor in schools in Erie and Niagara Counties. We visit prisons, courthouses, churches, community centers and First Offender Programs. We teach anybody who will listen about the benefits of PBD's - Pearls, Butterflies & Diamonds. Those are character vitamins from the YWAP Theory of Mentoring. Everyone will experience irritation, struggles and stress throughout their lives. The YWAP Staff teaches folks how to embrace struggle as the key to immeasurable opportunity. The YWAP programs have expanded through Mentor Force. Our goal is to ensure that every child in Buffalo has a Mentor. Mentor Force is a collaboration of Mentors who become teammates with teachers to help reinforce the study skills needed for a satisfactory education. We go right to the core of Character Education, helping students deal with social and emotional issues that are barriers to learning. Our team approach to mentoring helps to raise grades, reduce suspensions and minimize behavioral problems. As we step into a greater role of administration and teaching, we need more folks to come along side us. Mentor Force is made up of people who are like a "pass-through" organization. A Mentor is involved in a person's life for a limited time. They might maintain a life long relationship, but still they move on. YWAP is a "pass-through" organization. When you come along side us, we ask you to share the YWAP Vision, we don't ask you to stop dreaming or give up your own vision. Please come along side us and let us know how we can help you reach your vision. We call that: "Servanteering." We serve others as we volunteer to share our hearts. Thanks for your time. Go do something nice for somebody. Bob Kuebler Founder / Youth With A Purpose & Mentor Force Mentor Force is an organization of initiators. We help young people who are at risk of leading impoverished and violent lives. We teach teachers, mentors, coaches, parents and youth leaders how to build healthy relationships that make young people feel valued. Our goal is to ensure that every student has the benefit of being guided by a Mentor. If we can help you reach your potential as a Mentoring organization please contact us: 716-830-8240 [email protected]. www.youthwithapurpose.org We are available for school assemblies and educator conferences. MENTOR FORCE NUGGETS OF WISDOM Mentor Force is a collaboration of Mentors who work with teachers to reinforce study skills needed for a satisfactory education. Through the Common Core of Character Education, we help students deal with social and emotional issues that are barriers to learning. Our team approach to mentoring helps to raise grades, reduce suspensions and minimize behavioral problems. We mentor in the mountains. We mentor in the classroom. We teach mentors. [email protected] Monday, August 11, 2014 THE SCARED MENTOR Fear is universal, sparing no human being who has a heart beat. Fear can be healthy or destructive. Mentors who develop a healthy balance between compassion and healthy fear will create a nurturing emotional environment for Mentorees. Examine the following list of actions. Most would cause fear in some of us. Fear may be universal and yet fear isn't equal in the sense of what causes fear.
Some folks are perfectly comfortable on a cliff without a rope, walking city streets or speaking in public. It doesn't matter how you feel fear, it matters how you prepare and deal with fear when it happens. Fear can be passive, active or constantly shifting between the two. I won't bother to describe active fear because you'll know when you're scared by the perceived dangers on the battlefields in your mind. Here is the definition of the word passive as taken from Dictionary.com¹: Passive adjective 1.not reacting visibly to something that might be expected to produce manifestations of an emotion or feeling. 2. not participating readily or actively; inactive: a passive member of a committee. 3. not involving visible reaction or active participation: to play a passive role. 4. inert or quiescent. 5. influenced, acted upon, or affected by some external force, cause, or agency; being the object of action rather than causing action (opposed to active ). 6. receiving or characterized by the reception of impressions or influences from external sources. 7. produced or caused by an external agency. Thinking about your fear of heights is passive. If you're planning on a mountain trek where you'll be exposed to new heights, your fear will begin to advance towards the stage of fear activation. A "Scared Mentor" can cause emotional damage to themselves and others when their fear becomes active. There are steps that you can take to deal with your fears. BE PREPARED There is an ancient Greek word; "gnosis" which means knowledge. A deeper meaning for the word is "intimate knowledge" or "knowledge from experience." Do you have an intimate knowledge of yourself? Do you know the root causes of your behaviors? Do you carry unresolved generational wounds from your family? You have to know your limitations. In the Movie; "Dirty Harry," Clint Eastwood plays a cop who is considered controversial, reckless and dangerous. Here are some quotes by Harry Calahan taken from Wickiquote,² my words are in parenthesis:
What do you do when you are faced with the fear of working with a child who has been described as being anti-social? Treat them like any other child! All children are gifted and talented and deserve equal amounts of love. Many times we put labels on children who are reflecting the character that has been forced upon them at home. Injustice is not discriminatory in choosing which child to visit. Lack of compassion may be a generational scourge that becomes a burden laced with fear for a child. Be patient and don't give up. Seek out their particular uniqueness and help them flourish. Mentoring is a long term commitment. Study to show yourself approved as a Mentor. You'll avoid fears that you can't overcome. You'll help others become overcomers by the fears you do overcome. Thanks for your time. Go do something nice for somebody. Bob Kuebler Founder / Mentor Force Mentor Force is an organization of initiators. We help young people who are at risk of leading impoverished and violent lives. We teach teachers, mentors, coaches, parents and youth leaders how to build healthy relationships that make young people feel valued. Our goal is to ensure that every student has the benefit of being guided by a Mentor. If we can help you reach your potential as a Mentoring organization please contact us: 716-830-8240 [email protected]. www.youthwithapurpose.org We are available for school assemblies and educator conferences. References ¹http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/passive ²http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Magnum_Force Block Club Basketball is nearing the end of another spectacularly successful season. Yesterday several games were played on the Belle Center Court. The YWAP Team plays their home games here although they were ofF yesterday. A Team form the Hope Center on Paderewski staged an amazing comeback and took the lead in with a couple of seconds left. They won with some heroic team play and outstanding hustle.
Thanks Urban Christian Ministries for another great season. We look forward to the Playoffs next week. JLYASDW MENTOR FORCE TIP of the WEEK
Mentor Force is a collaboration of Mentors who work with teachers to reinforce study skills needed for a satisfactory education. Through the Common Core of Character Education, we help students deal with social and emotional issues that are barriers to learning. Our team approach to mentoring helps to raise grades, reduce suspensions and minimize behavioral problems. We mentor in the mountains. We mentor in the classroom. We teach mentors. [email protected] Friday, August 8, 2014 The Drowning Mentor Drowning is the cause of death for thousands of people every year. According to the Center for Disease Control, drowning is the fifth leading cause of death unintentional injury deaths in the United States.¹ Several years ago I watched a man save a 2 yr old girl who was drowning in a small pool at a hotel. In the midst of a large group of people, no one noticed her struggling until it was almost too late. A Man grabbed her and immediately initiated CPR, the little girl survived. Unfortunately many thousands of people drown every year. There is a wealth of preventative information posted on the CDC Website. They mention several key focus areas that can help prevent drowning. Here is some helpful information to help keep you and your family safe around water: Tips to help you stay safe in the water
http://www.aging.com/preventing-falls-in-older-adults/ Have you ever felt overwhelmed as a Mentor? Have you ever felt like you were drowning in an ocean of deep responsibility? Let's copy some of the safety tips for preventing drowning and paste them into a plan to help prevent Mentor Drowning.
Thanks for your time. Go do something nice for somebody. Bob Kuebler Founder / Mentor Force Mentor Force is an organization of initiators. We help young people who are at risk of leading impoverished and violent lives. We teach teachers, mentors, coaches, parents and youth leaders how to build healthy relationships that make young people feel valued. Our goal is to ensure that every student has the benefit of being guided by a Mentor. If we can help you reach your potential as a Mentoring organization please contact us: 716-830-8240 [email protected]. www.youthwithapurpose.org We are available for school assemblies and educator conferences. References
MENTOR FORCE TIP of the WEEK Mentor Force is a collaboration of Mentors who work with teachers to reinforce study skills needed for a satisfactory education. Through the Common Core of Character Education, we help students deal with social and emotional issues that are barriers to learning. Our team approach to mentoring helps to raise grades, reduce suspensions and minimize behavioral problems. We mentor in the mountains. We mentor in the classroom. We teach mentors. [email protected] Tuesday, August 5, 2014 MENTORS, HOODIES & PIT BULLS Pit bulls can be very dangerous dogs. A poodle can be a very dangerous dog. Danger comes in various sizes and breeds. Dogs do not breed themselves to be dangerous. There are certain character traits in animals that would give them a greater propensity to become vicious. Humans breed a greater viciousness in animals. The ownership of pit bulls has been legislated as illegal in many areas. Here's an example from Florida: Pit Bull Law It is illegal in Miami-Dade County to own or keep American Pit Bull Terriers, American Staffordshire Terriers, Staffordshire Bull Terriers, or any other dog that substantially conforms to any of these breeds' characteristics. For more information, view the Miami-Dade County ordinance, Chapter 5, Sec. 5-17. http://www.miamidade.gov/animals/pitbull-law.asp Breed-Specific Legislation was enacted in many places all over the world targeting "bully-type dogs." By targeting the ownership of certain breeds, folks thought they could help reduce the violence caused by those breeds. The term pit bull is applied to many inter bred bully-type dogs. Is it fair to generalize and use the term "dangerous" on all breeds of pit bulls based on statistically documented violence? That's a question designed to make you think about yourself and your relationship with the person you are mentoring. Laws that target certain animals based on Breed-Specific Legislation are on the decline. People are beginning to examine the root causes of behaviors. Society has too often enacted legislation based on "knee-jerk reactions" to life altering events. Working together in collaboration is always the best practice to remove the cause with harmful effects. "Building safer and more humane communities requires multifactorial approaches focusing on improved ownership and husbandry practices, better understanding of dog behavior, education of parents and children regarding safety around dogs, and consistent enforcement of dangerous dog/reckless owner ordinances in communities. National Canine Research Council. (2013). Causes and Prevention. Retrieved from: http://nationalcanineresearchcouncil.com/dogbites/causes-and-prevention/2 Patronek, G.J., Sacks, J.J., Delise, K.M., Cleary, D.V., & Marder, A.R. (2013). Co-occurrence of potentially preventable factors in 256 dog bite-related fatalities in the United States (2000-2009). Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 243(12), 1726-1736. Another interesting study was done by the American Academy of Forensic Sciences. They found a correlation between vicious dogs and their owners. It seems many people with anti-social tendencies have a tendency to own dogs considered to be dangerous. The following information was taken from Wikipedia:
Let's go back and visit Miami and Dade County for another look at generalizations with roots embedded in knee-jerk reactions. Trayvon Martin was a young man in a hoodie who died at the hands of someone who thought he looked suspicious. There's many sides to that story including racial profiling and generalizations based upon race and clothing. Many folks including President Obama believe that creating new laws will help balance racial inequalities. Making new laws could have an impact. Maybe we need a law that would prohibit volunteer neighborhood watchmen from carrying a gun. This isn't an article about anybody's guilt or innocence. Nor is it an expose' on the tragedy surrounding the death of Trayvon Martin. This is an appeal for you as a mentor to look deeply into yourself and examine your motives for becoming a mentor. This is an appeal for you as a mentor to look for any profiling tendencies in your own character. George Zimmerman bought a gun because of several altercations with a pit bull. He was advised by an animal control officer to get a gun for protection instead of pepper spray. Nobody has blamed the pit bull for causing the death of Trayvon. George became a neighborhood watchman because of a string of robberies in his neighborhood allegedly committed by young African American men. It seems to me that Trayvon fit the profile of Zimmerman's preconceived suspicions. Trayvon could fit the profile of thousands of inner city young men all over this country; Basically good hearted young guys who sometimes make bad decisions based on their immaturity who need a mentor. Laws do protect people. Mentors help people grow more compassionate so they don't break laws. "Suspicious Minds" was a song made famous by Elvis Presley. If you have a suspicious mind regarding the behavior of the person you are mentoring, what are your suspicions based on? Is there evidence in their actions that suggests a reason for you to be suspicious? "Be aware that a suspicious mind will manufacture suspicions and place them like labels on the hearts of other people. Something that never existed can manifest itself through suspicion." I was a teenager at football camp during my sophomore in high school. I was in the restroom with a friend who was smoking a cigarette. I did not smoke at the time. My friend asked me to hold his cigarette while he washed his hands. The Coach walked in and saw me holding the cigarette. I was accused of breaking team policy and I was suspended. Nobody believed that I wasn't smoking. To teach those "know-it-all's" a lesson, I decided to start smoking. I smoked for about sixteen years after that. As a young man my decision making ability was impaired by immaturity. The suspicions of adults based upon generalizations had a hand in my bad decision. I do not blame them but I do see a better way as an adult mentor. All children are equal. All children deserve compassion. All children deserve a mentor. MENTOR FORCE REFLECTIONS
The picture above is the cover of the book: "Wisdom From The Hood." The book may be found at: http://www.amazon.com/Wisdom-From-The-Hood-Lessons/dp/1492178039 Thanks for your time. Go do something nice for somebody. Bob Kuebler Founder / Mentor Force Mentor Force is an organization of initiators. We help young people who are at risk of leading impoverished and violent lives. We teach teachers, mentors, coaches, parents and youth leaders how to build healthy relationships that make young people feel valued. Our goal is to ensure that every student has the benefit of being guided by a Mentor. If we can help you reach your potential as a Mentoring organization please contact us: 716-830-8240 [email protected]. www.youthwithapurpose.org We are available for school assemblies and educator conferences. |
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