| Stories of Change
Stories of change is the newsletter for Monroe Youth Challenge Program. Here you can
view our latest newsletter.
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Stories of Change
June 2008
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Celebration of Diversity on Stage |
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'Famous' Opens Thursday, June 5 at MHS PAC
 "It's
a showcase of each kid's talent with a
hop, skip, and jump into the next kids'
talent and the audience will recognize
selections of the production," said
Monroe Youth Challenge Program Director
Sunny Booker who voluntarily directed
the musical. "Most shows I have
directed in Marathon seem to be
homogenous. The variety of this show
makes it exciting - more interesting,"
said Booker.
'Famous' opens Thursday, June 5 at
the Marathon High School in the
newly constructed auditorium. This
is the inaugural performance in the
facility. The show starts at 7 p.m.
Thursday, June 5 and repeats Friday,
June 6 at 7 p.m. Tickets cost $10
for adults and $5 for students.
General seating tickets may be
bought in advance at Marathon High
School or at the door if available.
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Ileana Ros-Lehtinen Celebrates MYCP Youth |
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Ileana Attends MYCP Annual Celebration
 A
highlight of the evening is that
Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen came. She
posed for pictures with students and
reviewed half a dozen service learning
projects before she congratulated
Superintendent Randy Acevedo for supporting
MYCP and doing a fantastic job with the
youth of Monroe County. MYCP, a grass-roots
non profit organization that runs programs
on every school campus in the county, hosted
its annual awards celebration to recognize
community partners and outstanding student
participants in Marathon.
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Key West Circle of Change |
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Elena Spottswood Hosts Private Party to
Benefit MYCP
A few dozen community leaders in Key West came
to learn about Monroe Youth Challenge Program at
the invitation of Elena Spottswood who hosted a
private party in her home. Guests learned about
MYCP's mission to foster acceptance, respect,
and success in the youth of Monroe County. Mrs.
Spottswood's home was a beautiful setting to
share stories of the youth in MYCP's programs.
New friendships were formed and we hope to draw
financial support from a broader circle in Key
West in the coming months and years.
Pictured left to right are MYCP Founder Judy
Greenman, former
MYCP Student Megan Oropeza, and Hostess
Elena Spottswood
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KWHS Mentors Celebrate Year of Change |
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Elementary Students Enjoy Bowling and
Pizza
 Key
West High School mentors and mentees
from Glenn Archer Elementary celebrated
a year of learning together with a
bowling and pizza party at Boca Chica.
MYCP Lower Keys Prevention Coordinator
Mindy Vinson established a partnership
with Big Brothers Big Sisters two years
ago to match a high school student with
an elementary student who was struggling
academically. Every week the 43 pairs
met for 30 minutes to read together,
talk about life, and play games. The
relationships they built helped the
students have a sense of belonging and
support to help them want to stay in
school and learn.
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Holocaust Study Includes Student Awareness Day,
Yom HaShoah |
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MYCP Leadership Students Host Remebrance
Event
 The
Yom HaShoah program hosted by leadership
students at Coral Shores High School was the
culmination of a semester study on bullying,
genocide, and the Holocaust to prevent
school violence. Students watched movies
about genocide, studied the Holocaust and
attended Student Awareness Day in Miami
where they sat with a survivor of the
Holocaust. After their research students
created a Yom HaShoah event at their school
as a day of commemoration for the
approximately six million Jews who perished
in the Holocaust. The Coral Shores
Performing Arts Center was packed as leaders
from the Keys Jewish Community Center and
students lead their peers in education,
remembrance, and personal commitment of
non-violence.
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Three Seniors Build Benches |
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For Plantation Tropical Preserve
The Village of Islamorada contributed a
fallen mahogany tree to the MYCP Leadership
Class at Coral Shores. Three seniors used it
to create benches for Plantation Tropical
Preserve on Plantation Key. Leadership class
students, Billy Hart, Matt O'Neil, and Tom
Guigoue turned the tree into boards, rounded
the edges, sanded it, and sealed it to use
it for making their benches. The benches
were then placed at Plantation Tropical
Preserve, which is near Tavernier Creek
Bridge. In this picture, Coral Shores Senior
Tom Guigoue is shown relaxing on one of the
benches he, Hart and O'Neil made.
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Where Are They Now? |
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Kelley Greenman, Truman Scholar
An upcoming senior at Washington University,
Kelley Greenman was recently awarded the
Truman Scholarship. While many United States
presidents are immortalized in structures of
bricks and mortar or marble, the memory of
the 33rd president continues in a living
memorial: the Harry S. Truman Scholarship
Foundation which was created by an act of
Congress.
The Act authorized the Foundation to "award
scholarships to persons who demonstrate
outstanding potential for and who plan to
pursue a career in public service," and to
conduct a nationwide competition to select
Truman scholars.
The Truman Scholarship Foundation remains
committed to encouraging future
"change-agents" of America. Many of those
chosen as scholars go on to serve in public
office, as public defenders, leaders of
non-profit organizations, and educators.
That's just the path this 2005 graduate of
Marathon High School is on.
Kelley remembers well her days of helping
her mother Judy Greenman, the founder of
Monroe Youth Challenge Program. Kelley says,
"In high school I was in the first STARS
mentoring program and did administrative
work to help bring Challenge Day to the
Keys." She attended the first Challenge Day,
plus four or five others and then went to
Next Step in California.
Those early leadership experiences are where
Kelley started to realize, "that the service
component was important. Through STARS
mentoring I learned that's what I want to
do," she said in an interview from Hungary
where she was on vacation visiting family.
When she returns to the states she plans to
take on a world-impacting issue of global
warming while on internship with the United
Nations Environment Program in Washington,
D.C. She has been selected to work with a
professional staff for two months to create
a youth network for climate change action in
North America.
From there, she is set to finish her
bachelor's in environmental science and then
plans to take a year off for public service.
The next two years she plans to work in D.C.
in the environmental arena before she
applies her Truman Scholarship for graduate
school at Washington University in St.
Louis. Her focus is on a joint degree with a
master's in environment science and public
policy specifically doing international
environmental policy on climate change.
In the picture above,
Kelley is one of the Truman Scholars who
gathered in May in Independence, Missouri,
home of the Truman Library. Part of their
activities was to work in small teams to
present solutions to policy challenges posed
to them by the Truman Foundation. In this
picture, Kelley's group proposed solutions
to foster care issues in Massachusetts to a
panel of judges.
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Have a safe summer. We look forward to
sharing more stories of change with you as
school starts and we gear up for Challenge
Days county-wide in the Fall.
Sincerely,
Sunny Booker
phone: (305) 293-1400 ext. 53319
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 In
an elegant evening among new and
familiar friends, Monroe Youth
Challenge Program staff and
volunteers reached out to a new
circle of supporters at the home of
Elena Spottswood in Key West. Her
generous support, and gourmet spread
by the fine chefs of
Tavern N Town, made for a most
delightful evening. MYCP is grateful
to Elena for her hospitality.
Thank you Elena Spottswood!
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Stories of Change
May 2008
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Celebrate Year of Change with 150+ |
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Dignitaries, Families Anticipate May 9th
Annual Celebration
Time is near to celebrate the amazing youth
who have lead the "Be the Change" Movement
in Monroe County for 2007-2008.
Expect to see lots of smiles, taste great
food, and get to know the world's future
leaders 5:30 p.m. Friday, May 9th at
Sombrero Country Club in Marathon.
Adults are $15 and Students $10.
RSVP now to
Sunny.Booker@keysschools.com
or call (305) 797-1328.
See you at
5:30 p.m. this Friday!
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Fights Decreased Immediately After 8TP
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Created by Students to Change Rival
Attitude
 In
high school many fights were in the ninth
and tenth grade but those drastically
reduced after 8TP was created to help meld
rival middle schools into one cohesive
class. The transition program is known as
8TP at Key West and Coral Shores or 6TP at
Marathon. Incoming classes spend a
team-building day on the high school campus
where they plan to attend the next year.
According to the Safe and Drug-Free Schools
report the number of violent acts against
persons, harassment, and fighting incidents
on all three campuses has dropped. Students
created this program to make the campus
safer, reduce anxiety of freshmen and better
prepare them to learn.
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Elementary Students See "Count on Me" |
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Learn to Be the Change for Others and
the World
This larger-than-life presentation
incorporated select major motion movie
clips, top-of-the-chart music, and a story
about middle school students who have
rescued and care for more than 3,300 dogs
and 500 cats in four years. Through an
innovative, large three-screen presentation
elementary school students and teachers
throughout Monroe County heard "Count on Me"
April 28 - May 2. More than 1,000 students
were motivated to be responsible for
themselves, others and the world. MYCP High
School students showed true leadership by
introducing the production and helping set
up and break down the screens and video
equipment between multiple programs in one
day.
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MYCP Students on TV and at National, State
Conferences |
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Students Speak about Service Learning
MYCP Director Sunny Booker, MYCP
District Prevention Coordinator Michele
Sutter and Superintendent Randy Acevedo
along with Marathon High School Senior
Katie Greenman (at left) spoke at the
19th Annual National Service-Learning
Conference held April 10-12 in
Minneapolis, Minn. In addition, Coral
Shores High School Juniors Yara de la
Torre and Vivian Sadar met with
Representative Ron Saunders and Senator
Larcenia Bullard in Tallahassee to
educate them about service learning at
the annual Florida Service Learning
conference April 21-23. Sadar was one of
six students (out 200 at the conference)
chosen to read part of the Governor's
Service-Learning Month Proclamation at a
TV press conference.
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Leadership Teams Clean Bridges Countywide |
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Students Bring Change Through Public
Awareness
Through the Key West Leadership Class with
MYCP Lower Keys Prevention Coordinator Mindy
Vinson advising, student teams learn about
business, environment, and economics. "They
are learning through trial and error as they
interview local dignitaries to find out how
our community is run," Vinson said. In
addition, the Key West environment
contingent joined forces with the Coral
Shores High School leadership class to clean
up the bridges throughout the county. By
next school year, students hope to see more
garbage cans placed around bridges and
proper signage posted to promote proper care
of the Keys' natural resources.
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Diverse Students Speak Out |
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Conference Set for May 19
In analysis of school data, Anglo students
score highest on standardized tests and have
the highest GPAs while Hispanic students
place second and African American students
score third. Yet, the African American
students have the highest attendance rate.
What do you think about that?
What are the stereotypes that lead to your
thinking?
Students are to face those questions in a
unique opportunity to train with conflict
resolution activist and professional trainer
Elisa Levy. After the training, students
plan to prepare ideas on how to solve this
dilemma of inequality, known as the
achievement gap, for administrators to
study.
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Summer Music CAMP Opens Registration |
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Countywide Students Access World-Class
Educators
 MYCP
partners with the Cultural American Music
Program (CAMP) & Careers which is ready to
sign students up now! MYCP provides youth
development/prevention speakers and
curriculum during the five-week program.
CAMP is open to 5-12 Grade students in
hospitality, culinary arts, and film and
video productions with core courses and
electives in winds, brass, percussion,
guitar, vocals, ballroom, Stomp, technical
design, theater, culinary arts, film/video
productions & more! Dual enrollment is
available. The program runs from June 14 to
July 19 at Marathon High School. Countywide
transportation provided. Call 743-6215 for
info.
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Where Are They Now? |
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Francine Swadley is ready to help heal the
world. She attends Florida Gulf Coast
University in Ft. Myers, Florida on full
scholarship with a major in Community Health
and Prevention - Epidemiology.
She is a member of the anthropology club;
Circle K International, a community-based
service club serving food at a weekly soup
kitchen; Chi Omega Sorority to raise money
that helps grant wishes for children in
Make-A-Wish® Foundation; and the Civil
Engagement Club she is going with on a
service project to the Dominican Republic.
The summer after she graduated Coral Shores
High School in 2006, she earned her CNA - a
certificate as a nurse's assistant. Last
summer she worked as the director of the St.
James Summer Foster Child Day Camp 60 hours
a week and attended algebra class once a
week in Marathon. "I could keep going on
about the things she's done. She's just
amazing. We're very proud of her," said her
mom.
Francine was part of the MYCP-sponsored
Leadership Class for three years. She
attended Challenge Day as a freshman and
then served as a peer facilitator. She still
remembers, "Half way through the day the
awkward feeling [at the beginning] is gone
and every one is sharing about themselves
and being friends and supportive of each
other."
She attended Next Step in California and was
part of the brain child team that created
the now keys-wide 8th-Grade transition
program known as 8TP provided by MYCP.
"I would like to thank Michele Sutter, Sunny
Booker and everyone who makes
Challenge Days possible," she said.
Her recent act of being the change was in
February when Francine cut her hair and
donated it to
Locks of Love.
Next year, Francine returns to Florida Gulf
Coast as a junior. When she graduates she
hopes to become a medical doctor and work
wherever there are poor people, hopefully
with the
World Health Organization or the
Peace Corps.
"Francine just has that spark of life. She
was committed to MYCP and what we were
about," said MYCP's Michele Sutter.
Above, Francine sports
her new short hair cut.
The bottom photo is Francine with
Michele two years ago.
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I look forward to celebrating the amazing
accomplishments of our students with you and
a surprise guest this Friday.
See you at 5:30 sharp.
Sincerely,
Sunny Booker
phone: (305) 293-1400 ext. 53319
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Two years in a row the
Key West Firefighters Local Union
1424 has supported the Key West
Leadership mentoring program by
underwriting their end-of-the-year
field trip. This month 67 high
school mentors and their elementary
mentees from Gerald Adams and
Poinciana went bowling. The day was
to celebrate their year together
with meetings each week that helped
increase the social and academic
successes for both the older and
younger students.
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We thank Key West Firefighters for being
the change! |
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Stories of Change
April 2008
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Celebrate a Year of Change |
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Join us for the Annual Celebration Friday, May 9
Mingle
with government, civic, and business leaders as well as
students and parents from Key Largo to Key West. This is
your only chance of the year to see MYCP programs
through the eyes of youth participants as well as the
service learning projects middle and high school
students county-wide have done to benefit the community.
In an entertaining fast-paced evening starting at 6
p.m., you'll enjoy delightful delicacies prepared by the
Sombrero Country Club Chef plus a cash bar and silent
auction. Cost is $15 an adult or $10 per student.
R.S.V.P. Sunny Booker at (305) 797-1328 or
sunny.booker@keysschools.com.
6 p.m., Sombrero Country Club in Marathon
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York's Students Change School Climate |
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Random Acts of Kindness Effect Marathon Middle
School
A dozen
students at Marathon Middle School mobilized an entire
body of 150-plus students to be the change they want to
see in the world, as Ghandi has said. Teacher Linnea
York's language arts class started a
random-acts-of-kindness campaign with funding from a
Monroe County School District serving learning grant to
address teasing and bullying. She contacted Monroe Youth
Challenge Program because of their expertise at
fostering respect for and among students. The impact of
the program made such an impression on Principal Harry
Russell and the faculty that York was presented the
Marathon Team Family Pride award at a recent faculty
meeting.
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'Be-the-Change Booker' is Point of Light |
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Crist Recognized Booker at Governor's Mansion
Reception
Governor Charlie Crist presented one of four Point of
Light awards to Sunny Booker of Marathon at the
governor's mansion in Tallahassee Wednesday, Feb. 27 in
front of a group of more than 200 community leaders,
educators and students at the Governor's Mansion to mark
the conclusion of Black History Month. Governor Crist
said, "The achievements of African-Americans are woven
into every part of our state's history, and we are
honored to celebrate this heritage during Black History
Month and throughout the year." Booker was recognized as
the director of Monroe Youth Challenge Program for her
volunteerism with the program.
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Hispanic Students Change Future |
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Service Learning Success Continues Second Semester
By
starting a free weekly playgroup, a handful of
students hope to help future Hispanic students
change statistics that show what rank children are
most likely to be in by the time they reach high
school. It's called the achievement gap to
educators. Thanks to a school district mini service
learning grant, members of Coral Shores' early
childhood class meet with a group of Hispanic
mothers and children in Key Largo each week for
Grupo de Jeugo, which means playgroup in Spanish.
They read books, learn sign language, play games,
and have a parent discussion on the
40 Developmental Assets®.
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Mora to Serve in AmeriCorps |
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Where are they now? Celena Mora
Celena
Mora, a senior at Marathon High School plans to take her
four-year experience with Monroe Youth Challenge Program
and turn it into a 10-month expedition serving the
country with Americorps. During high school she
participated in Challenge Day every year, 6TP when it
started, Next Step in 2007, and the Make Your Mark
Retreat last summer where this photo was taken. Having
lived her whole life in the Keys, Celena is ready to
take her leadership skills and be the change she wants
to see in the world. "I've lived in the Keys my whole 18
years and I know it's different out there," she said
about her plans to leave for her AmeriCorps service in
August. AmeriCorps is a national service program that
allows people of all ages and backgrounds to earn help
paying for education in exchange for a year of service.
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Sunny Booker
phone: (305) 293-1400 ext. 53319
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The Town Hall Meetings in Marathon and Key West
were successful in large part due to the
generous sponsors who made the social networking
afterwards possible.
Please share our gratitude by doing business
with:
Key West Kia
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We thank these sponsors for being the change! |
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"Only I can change
my life.
No one can do it for me."
~ Carol Burnett
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Stories of Change
February
2008
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In this two-minute report
you'll see how what we do,
with the work we love,
changes the planet
thanks to friends like you.
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Parent Support Saves Lives |
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Please come to the Town Hall Meetings Feb. 11 and 13
Keys parents are concerned and
outraged about passé attitudes toward house parties that brew risky
and often life-threatening behaviors.
In response, Monroe Youth Challenge Program invites any
concerned adult to attend a "Turn On The Lights" Town Hall
Meeting. In partnership with the school district they are to be
held in Marathon at the Stanley Switlik School Auditorium
Monday, Feb. 11 and Key West High School Auditorium Wednesday,
Feb. 13. Both meetings are set for 6 p.m.
Free child care
is provided in separate rooms with age-appropriate activities. A
reception follows immediately.
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Students Speak Out to Change School Climate |
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Upcoming Diversity Conference, Tool for Administrators
The upcoming Diversity Conferece (watch for dates) is to train
students from all three high schools in cultural awareness and
learning styles. After a full day of experiential activities, a
handful of students from each school are to be invited back for
a televised forum on diversity.
The forum is to be filmed for administrators to watch and study.
The students are to be showcased for their solutions to the
achievement gap and suggestions to improveme to school climate .
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Students Recommit to 'Be the Change' |
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Challenge Day Reunion
Coming Soon
Just a few short months since more than 1,000 freshmen
experienced their first Challenge Day, they have the chance to
reunite and recommit to the vision they had to make their school
the school of their dreams.
This action-packed, soul-lifting experience set for Wednesday,
Feb. 27 is to recharge each student for the last half of the
year. They can be the change they want to see in the world!
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Greenman Third in National Speech Contest |
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Calls Nation to 'Be the Change'
Marathon
High School Senior Katie Greenman, challenged a national
audience to "Be the Change" they want to see in the world
and attributes her inspiration to the six years she has
participated in and lead MYCP events and programs. She
wrote:
I
would like to thank to the entire
Monroe County Community for the overwhelming support you all
showed me during this National Public Speaking Competition.
I tied for 3rd Place and received a $3,750 scholarship, not
to mention an experience that I will continue to grow from
for the rest of my life. Thank you again for all the support
through voting, emails, prayers, and thoughts...I felt it
the WHOLE WAY and appreciate it more than I can say!
Much Love,
Katie Greenman
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Todd Leads 5,000 Toward Dream |
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Where are they now? RALI TODD
It was 2001 when Rali Todd, a student at Coral Shores, attended
Challenge Day. He was a tough guy in the back of the room --
untouchable.
After meeting an adult volunteer there they had the opportunity
to develop a mentoring relationship. That brief season helped
him through some tough times, especially with academics.
Now he is the mentor who touches lives everyday in his
business of coaching and encouraging basketball players to reach
for their dreams.
The teachers who had Rali might like to know the writing he did
for his inaugural web site sold more than 5,000 basketball
training programs in the first six months.
Now living in Miami, he went from being a top trainer at Bali to
starting his own business as a personal trainer and then moved
into his online entrepreneurial business.
When he is not with a client, he can be found at the keyboard
managing his business at
www.gobasketballpro.com or
speaking in college classes about motivation and success.
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While there are many people to thank, this month's
gratitude corner is dedicated to President and
General Manager Rob Robbins and Development Director
Thu-Thao Ayers of WMKL-91.9 FM The Call.
When they read the public service announcement sent
two weeks before the first Turn on the Lights Town
Hall Meeting they asked if they could provide
refreshments and hors d'oeuvres.
They found a partnering sponsor, hired a caterer and
transformed the school entryway into a reception
hall with twinkling lights and overflowing buffet
tables. Parents and community leaders lingered and
talked about how to make life safe for youth in
Monroe County.
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Rob and Thu-Thao, Thank You for Being the Change! |
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