{"id":7123,"date":"2013-08-20T14:28:48","date_gmt":"2013-08-20T18:28:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/?p=7123"},"modified":"2013-08-20T14:28:48","modified_gmt":"2013-08-20T18:28:48","slug":"at-servicecorps-community-growth-is-personal-growth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/?p=7123","title":{"rendered":"At ServiceCorps, community growth is personal growth"},"content":{"rendered":"

39 Coatesville Youth Initiative students recognized for their service<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

By Kyle Carrozza<\/strong>,\u00a0Staff Writer, The Times<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Sam<\/a>

Sam Brown, winner of the Harry Lewis Scholarship, congratulates his fellow ServiceCorps members.<\/p><\/div>\n

COATESVILLE \u2013 Community improvement is a two-way street; deeds done by community members improve the world around them, and, in turn, the act of completing those deeds allows the individuals to grow as well.<\/p>\n

The Coatesville Youth Initiative (CYI) ServiceCorps Recognition Ceremony, held at the Downingtown Country Club, commemorated this growth on Monday night.<\/p>\n

For the past eight weeks, 39 CYI members have worked at various sites throughout the area, including painting a mural at the Bridge Academy, growing organic vegetables at Waste Oil Management Inc. in Modena, and shelving books and working with children at the Coatesville Public Library. Monday night gave them a chance to \u00a0share reflections on how those experiences changed them.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe ServiceCorps program was a chance to learn life and leadership skills, but we all learned so much more,\u201d said Nelson Negron.<\/p>\n

Negron spent his summer working as a youth counselor at the Brandywine YMCA. At the beginning of his experience, he felt that the counselors he was working with saw him as a volunteer, someone trying to coast by. Not content with this role, he switched to another group of children, where his coworkers recognized his full potential. He said that the experience opened him up as a person and forced him to recognize his own abilities.<\/p>\n

\"Samaria<\/a>

Samaria Turner shows off her certificate of completion.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cWithout the Coatesville Youth Initiative Service Program, I don\u2019t know where I\u2019d be as a person,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

With CYI member Ryan Leahan as the evening\u2019s energetic emcee, many other students shared similar stories of personal growth.<\/p>\n

Maria Co said that working with the ServiceCorps challenged her more than she ever expected and prepared her for challenges in the future. Zyonna Boykin said that when she first applied, she was just looking for a job. Eventually, her work experiences made her more punctual, taught her to respect people with jobs that are often overlooked \u00a0– and by Monday night – \u00a0gave her a new perspective on her surroundings.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt allowed me to see Coatesville in a different view. I\u2019ve made friends with people I thought I\u2019d never talk to,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The element of personal growth was not lost on CYI and Brandywine Health Foundation administration.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want young people to grow, learn, and create social change,\u201d said Mena Badros, CYI’s program coordinator.<\/p>\n

Along with the projects that have resulted in 27,361 hours of service over the past four years, CYI aims to teach members how to become more responsible and more involved citizens in the community.<\/p>\n

Throughout the year, the conducted workshops on skills for adulthood, such as balancing a budget, prioritizing tasks, and maintaining physical and mental health. They also focus on larger goals such as assessing community needs, planning service projects, and deciphering mixed messages in the media.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen they came into the program, many of them didn\u2019t have bank accounts,\u201d said CYI Director Chaya Scott. \u201cBut as the program goes on, there are changes in conversation and responsibility.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ServiceCorp<\/a>

ServiceCorp members lead the room in a chant proclaiming themselves future leaders.<\/p><\/div>\n

She said that students begin understanding the value of money, for example. She also observes changes in the way they talk to their parents as they become more responsible.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have the best job in the world,\u201d said Scott. \u201cI get a chance to develop our future leaders.\u201d<\/p>\n

The chance to claim responsibility as community members and individuals seemed to spark a desire in many of the members to continue to increase their roles in the world and change their surroundings.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Coatesville Youth Initiative allows us to believe that our changes can be as great as we want them to be,\u201d said member Aja Thompson.<\/p>\n

Sam Brown, a 12th-grader who rose to the position of associate coordinator, wants to continue his growth as a person by staying involved with the program.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe ServiceCorps helped me establish morals I can carry with me,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Winner of the Harry Lewis Scholarship, an award that goes to someone dedicated to the community, Brown said that he hopes to stay involved in the program and help it expand to reach more young people even as he attends Millersville University next year.<\/p>\n

This shared sense of responsibility may explain why CYI members kept referring to themselves as a family.<\/p>\n

Between giving out awards for the funniest, most huggable, and most inseparable members, CYI participants made Monday night seem like a family reunion, punctuated by the \u00a0giggles of inside jokes and the adrenaline-inducing chants proclaiming themselves future leaders.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe understand that you have a blood family, but sometimes you need an extended support system,\u201d said Scott.<\/p>\n

In the coming year, the CYI will become an independent organization; while it will still be a top priority to the Brandywine Health Foundation, it will be a separate entity. CEO and President of the Brandywine Health Foundation Frances Sheehan said that she does not know what to expect, but she has \u201ccompletely faith they\u2019re going to do a good job.\u201d<\/p>\n

Scott agreed. The aspirations for the program seemed to reflect the aspirations of Monday night\u2019s graduates.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not sure what the future holds, but there\u2019s so much opportunity for us to grow,\u201d Scott said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

39 Coatesville Youth Initiative students recognized for their service By Kyle Carrozza,\u00a0Staff Writer, The Times COATESVILLE \u2013 Community improvement is a two-way street; deeds done by community members improve the world around them, and, in turn, the act of completing those deeds allows the individuals to grow as well. The Coatesville Youth Initiative (CYI) ServiceCorps […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":7132,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,3,1],"tags":[110,2688,682,2695,258,628,2694],"class_list":["post-7123","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-featured","category-uncategorized","tag-brandywine-health-foundation","tag-brandywine-health-foundation-ceo-and-president-frances-sheehan","tag-bridge-academy-and-community-center","tag-coatesville-public-library","tag-coatesville-youth-initiative","tag-servicecorps","tag-waste-oil-management-inc"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7123","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7123"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7123\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7132"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7123"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7123"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7123"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}