Young Scholars come to Greater Homewood

On Friday July 10 Greater Homewood Community Corporation hosted a successful community service day with the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation’s Young Scholars Program. Seventy-seven youth and their ten staff mentors worked alongside community members and Greater Homewood staff on seven different projects around the community.

The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation’s Young Scholars Program is a highly competitive program that nurtures students of exceptional academic and artistic talent with financial need by giving them guidance and resources to excel in high school, college, and beyond. Program staff work with scholars and their families to provide a personalized scholarship experience that enables the students to pursue their academic and artistic interests. Students apply in 7th grade, begin receiving support in 8th grade and continue through high school. After graduating students are eligible to receive additional assistance through college and graduate school from the program. Of the approximately 1,200 applications received by the foundation last year, only 77 were chosen.

Friday’s students were rising high school freshmen from across the country coming together with their class for the first time for a weekend at Johns Hopkins University Homewood Campus. After a brief orientation at Barclay Elementary/Middle School, students split up into seven groups and went right to work. Community Connections VISTA Katie Horn led a group planting trees and plants as well as painting benches at Barclay Elementary/Middle School. VISTA Sam Chalfant and Waverly resident Irma Peav led a group weeding and planting flowers in planters along Old York Rd. above 33rd St. Better Waverly Resident Gail Kruesinger led a group weeding and mulching along Old York Rd. below 33rd St. Abell resident Bonnie Bessor worked with a group cleaning up an alley between 31st St. and Vineyard Lane behind Normal’s Bookstore, collecting 12 bags of trash and debris. Community Connections VISTA John Bernet and Peter Duvall worked with a group cleaning up the Harwood/26ers Community Park on the corner of 26th St. and Barclay St. as well as planting flowers and repairing the fence. Bob Brinkman and Margo Thomas led a group cleaning up the railroad bridge and alleys around 27th St. and Barclay St. Senior Resource VISTA Delores Somerville supervised a group that performed for and interacted with the residents at the Ellerslie Senior Apartments. Additionally, a group of 15 students from the Civic Leadership Institute worked with Brad Schlegel to clean up a vacant lot on 24th St. and Barclay. Overall the day was a great success with many accomplishments and positive and rewarding interactions between community members and the scholars.

Many thanks to all staff and community members whose participation made this great event possible, as well as Rebuilding Together, CSAFE and Barclay Elementary/Middle School for their donations of tools and space, Ronald Samuel for his coordination with the Ellerslie Tenant Council, and Civic Works and Parks and People for their generous donations of flowers and plants. Finally, thank you so much to Christine Borgelt, Julie Jarnot, Berkeley Burgess, the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, and all of the great students for all of the volunteer work they did!

Post submitted by Ethan Hunt

Image courtesy of the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation