Our Tygers made a difference this summer
It was a tough start to the summer for Kevin McDowell. The 15 year old, on his first day of work at the CommUnity Camp at North Lake Park, was helping a youngster learn to fish.
"The kid threw his (line) out and the hook flew around and got stuck in my chin," McDowell said with a wry smile earlier this week. "I had to go to the emergency room to get it out."
An incoming freshman at Mansfield Senior High School, McDowell is one of 145 local teenagers working at various locations around the community through a summer youth employment program funded by Richland County Job & Family Services.
Ten of those teens work in the CommUnity camps for kids at North Lake and Burton parks in Mansfield.
McDowell, one of eight teens assigned to North Lake Park, worked in the program last summer at the North End Community Improvement Collaborative Urban Farm on Bowman Street.
"I wanted to learn some different things this summer," said McDowell, who plans to play football for the Tygers this fall.
"I learned to be patient," he said with another smile. "Some of the kids don't listen ... sometimes.
"I also learned I am a good group worker. I liked this summer more. I got to be more hands on."
Debra Weaver, principal consultant for Woven Opportunities of Mansfield, helped to lead the CommUnity Camp program. She praised the work of the youth in the summer work program.
"The impacts for both the campers and the teen TANF staff are immeasurable -- improved problem-solving, developed critical thinking, self-regulation, creative processing and even financial literacy," said Weaver, a 32-year educator.
Weaver said helping the teenagers become "employment ready" is part of the program.
"Developmentally, many teens are hyper-focused only on self-advancement. This is one of our first struggles. Our TANF workers do not show up on the first day of camps knowing how to work. We invest in them and teach them as a collective staff," Weaver said.
"We grow them one hurdle and success at a time throughout 40 days of work," she said. "Ultimately, our target is that these skills will continue to grow and be the foundation of work for these individuals."
Loretha Cross, who retired last fall from Foundation Academy, supervised the TANF youth. She also praised the teens who work in the program and pointed out many spoke to her about using their summer income to buy school clothes and shoes and other items that their families would not then have to purchase for them.
"I have a great group of kids. They are respectful and willing to work. They formed relationships with the kids and each other," Cross said. "They have shown a great work ethic from the start.
"They learned patience with the children and became mentors. You hear so many negative things about teenagers, but all I can say is great things about this group."
Weaver said having staff members like Cross is essential to the program.
"It's extraordinarily important that we teach kids and not have these expectations they are supposed to know what to do," Weaver said. "It's so important to have educators on staff and people who are invested in kids and understand that connection."
Na'Ziah Toffee, 15, a sophomore at Mansfield Senior
who plays basketball and runs track, said she enjoys "looking out" for the youngsters. She also enjoyed playing "tag" with the kids at North Lake Park. "I would just kind of let them catch me," she said with a smile."
Toffee said the program also helped her.
"When I first started (this summer), I was really shy. As the summer went on, I opened up to more people. I am not so shy anymore."
Alt praised the work of all of the agencies and groups in the program.
"The Council appreciates the collaboration and cooperation of all the worksites and NECIC, which provides the staffing service and issues the paychecks to the youth," Alt said.
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