I Beat the Odds_ From Homelessness, to the Blind Side, and Beyond - Michael Oher [81]
If we all believe we can achieve something great, then I know that together, we can beat the odds, one life at a time.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Ways to Get Involved
If you are a concerned adult who would like to get involved but aren't sure where to start, there are a lot of places you can contact. The organizations I talk about here are not a complete list of all those out there. This chapter is really just a starting point to let people know the types of groups and opportunities available.
The most obvious place to start is to contact the guidance counselor at any local school. A counselor will be able to let you know if there are children in the school who have specific needs, like shoes or clothes. Or the school may have a mentoring program. Every school system has different rules and needs, but the guidance office is a great place to get started.
Just judging from some of the organizations that people have written me from, there are a lot of great groups out there that are making a difference in kids' lives.
There is probably a YMCA or YWCA in a community near you, and they are always offering classes and sports activities for kids who want positive ways to fill their time and develop their skills. These centers are often looking for volunteers to help coach, teach, or tutor, and can be a really good place to start making connections with individual kids.
Another good option for getting involved is the Boys and Girls Club. With more than four thousand clubs around the country, plus military bases, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, this is one of the biggest youth organizations in the world; and since there are clubs in every state, there is almost certainly one in a community near you. These are great places for children to find all kinds of help that they need, from academic support to after-school activities. And there is always a need for volunteers to help support the different programs offered.
Big Brothers Big Sisters is also a great mentoring program that offers one-on-one interaction for kids who are looking for positive role models and adults who want to have a direct impact on someone's life. There are programs in all fifty states and twelve countries internationally, so there are a lot of places and ways to make a difference.
Study Buddy is a national program that provides homework help online for kids who need some extra tutoring in math and science. It is part of the National Science & Technology Education Partnership, and its goal is to make "economics and geography no longer a bar to success in math. The linking of high school student tutors, one-on-one and online, with struggling middle and high school math students creates a community of role models for the struggling students in an unintimidating and exciting environment."
I strongly recommend you pick up the phone and call your local branch of any one of these organizations.
THERE ARE ALSO A NUMBER OF PROGRAMS that are dedicated specifically to children who have been placed in protective custody or are in foster care.
One group for which I've done some speaking is the Treehouse organization in Seattle, Washington. Their slogan is "Giving foster kids a childhood and a future," and their entire purpose is to help kids and families who are a part of the system. They have six different branches that offer different kinds of support:
* The Wearhouse, a free store where kids can get shoes, school supplies, books, and toys
* Little Wishes, which takes care of life expenses like drivers' education or classes to develop a certain skill
* Summer Camp, which gives kids a camp vacation to make new friends and just have a good time being kids
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