What A Year...What A Year!

What a year this has been! From Femi Memorial Outreach Fund winning the 2011-2012 Ignation Spirit Team Award to partnering up with Loyola University Chicago, The University of Chicago and Dominican University, and at the same time gaining twelve host locations in various Chicago Public Schools and Chicago Park Districts to include our after-school homework assistance program, I start to think how blessed I was to watch the growth of this organization right before my eyes. I mean, I was actually a part of this whole growth experience for Femi Memorial Outreach Fund. From the many accomplishments of Femi Memorial Outreach Fund, I take the time to look back at my very own accomplishments.  As I take a look back from the past, I can’t say that I’ve done it all on my own. Yes, I’ve had a great support system from my family to my friends and I still do. However, one unique support system that I’ve gained these past four years and could never imagine gaining would be that of Femi Memorial Outreach Fund.

From being a little freshman tutor to Head Tutor all the way to becoming an Executive Intern for Femi Memorial Outreach Fund has been not one, but several accomplishments indeed. And if you’re asking, No…I am not tired working for the same organization! Looking back has knocked me over and made me realize that most of my proud accomplishments during my undergrad career come from my experience at Femi Memorial Outreach Fund. Recently, I graduated Loyola University Chicago…..Double Yayyyy! Now, I am not the only 2013 graduate who tutored for Femi Memorial Outreach Fund for their entire undergrad career. Let’s pause and take the time to loudly cheer and clap for our other two awesome graduates….Aubrey Carver and Courtney Neale!

Aubrey, Courtney and I have tutored for Femi Memorial Outreach Fund for four, full years during our undergrad career at Loyola University Chicago. Now even though we didn’t see each other all of the time, they are familiar faces and remain being friends to the organization. With me traveling to schools on the South Side to help out in-class and after-school and going to the Park District locations while they’re traveling to schools and Park District locations as well has caused us to not see each other often. Yet, I know that they’re hard-working and busy as much as I. Even though I can’t exactly speak for the both of them, I can try to speak on behalf of the both of them. I know that tutoring for these past four years during undergrad has been a tremendously amazing and life-changing experience with many ups and downs. The important thing is that during these ups and downs, the children were not alone; we’ve triumphed through it all together, like a family. Nonetheless, I repeat that it was an Ahhh-mazzzing and Life-changing experience!

Now, I know a lot of you are probably reading this and thinking… “You just tutored some kids for four years…Big Whoop!” However, those of you thinking like that won’t know what it’s like until you’ve actually experienced it. And for those of you, who think otherwise, knows what it’s like and actually experienced it. But these children weren’t just any children; these were children who came from underserved and multicultural communities. These were children who walk outside in their communities and see that there is no hope. These are children who haven’t had great role models in their lives and they are at-risk. When I started off my freshman year at Loyola University Chicago, I remember saying to myself that I need a work-study job. And being the fact that my family was against me working during school because they wanted my sole focus to be on my studies, my mother kept telling me that I need to get a work-study job in college. I have an older sister who is about fifteen years older than me and a younger sister who was in high school during the time I was entering college. So technically, I didn’t really know a lot about how to find a work-study job or even how all of this work-study stuff works. Let me tell you, as much as my mother and sister tried to help me out because they graduated college a long time ago, I still felt that finding a good work-study job was hard. So I said okay, I am going to search for a work-study job right now, when I did, I logged on to the Loyola’s Career Website and ding…I came across Femi Memorial Outreach Fund. It was like fate or something because I didn’t know they would call me back for an interview.

I was nervous because I’ve had experienced being a Caddy during the summer and I’ve had summer internships in high school, but I never had an actual job before. Applying to Femi Memorial Outreach Fund was the easy part, interviewing was nerve-wrecking and when I received that call back, it was life-changing.  Life-changing, how? Well, let’s just say that getting to know these children that I’ve tutored and seeing how their lives are different from that of mines has allowed me to grow up, so to speak. I used to be self-centered. I thought that I deserved every little thing in life and that it should be given to me not earned, if I didn’t get anything I viewed it as unfair. Now that I’m looking back at it, I seem pretty selfish. You know that phrase “sharing means caring”…well that wasn’t me! Yet, I met so many kids who are pretty content with every situation of their lives and they go by with very little, almost close to none, every day. I met kids in worse conditions possible. What really is an eye opener is to see that no matter what the situation is, they wanted to go to school and learn something. I changed because of that! I gained sympathy and empathy. It didn’t take one day or one year, but these past four years gave me enough time.

I learned from these children as much as they learned from me! As I move on with my life and continue on to work hard for my future, I will never regret and forget working for Femi Memorial Outreach Fund. Femi Outreach has believed in me from the very beginning and during these past four years it has put a lot of hope and trust in me and my hard work. I’ve gained something incredible and unexplainable from Femi Memorial Outreach Fund. I will always remember the best work-study job and internship experience I’ve had at Femi Memorial Outreach Fund!

In other good news, Femi Memorial Outreach Fund is working to keeping more of you in the loop of things. We have just created our 2013 Newsletter. The 2013 Newsletter talks about our recent accomplishments in the 2012-2013 Academic Year as well give tribute to our most generous and loyal donors. And we can’t forget, Femi Memorial Outreach Fund has dedicated a section to the recent graduates. I know that the organization is proud to see their tutors graduate each and every year. Although it’s always hard to lose a good one, it’s a more positive feeling to see their success, even after their experience with Femi Memorial Outreach Fund. We will miss our tutors, but they know that Femi Memorial Outreach Fund is home and they are welcome to come and help out anytime. Congrats to everyone graduating in the World, from the East Coast to the West Coast all the way down to the Midwest. Wherever you are on the map, whether it’s the United States of America, Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, and/or Europe…Congratulations on graduating! Femi Memorial Outreach Fund is proud of you!

Tutor-Mentor Conference

 For those of you who may not have known, the Tutor-Mentor Leadership and Networking Conference came into town this past weekend. Of course, we couldn't miss out on such a great opportunity! Femi Memorial Outreach Fund had the honor of being a part of this annual Conference again to remind us of why our organization is important in the communities we serve. I enjoyed my years working for Femi Outreach as a tutor, and I don’t regret any second, minute or day of it. I had the honor of participating this year as it was my very first Conference and I learned a lot. This Conference exceeded every expectation that I had. Going into this conference, I understood how much of a great help I was with the students understanding their homework. Leaving it opened my eyes more wide as I realized that I am not only helping young children with their homework, I am showing them that there is hope for their futures and that education is the key to their success.

            I went into the Tutor-Mentor Leadership and Networking Conference eager to see what was going to be discussed.  It started off with a networking activity. During this activity, we had one minute to introduce ourselves, the organization that we are coming from and talk about an interesting fact to as many people as we can. I felt that this was a great ice-breaking activity to kick-off the event. I met many Presidents, Directors and Future Leaders of many organizations in this activity alone.

I started off by introducing myself; talked a great deal about Femi Outreach and discussed how the organization employs students that serve as after school tutors and as in-class assistance in schools throughout the Chicago area, then I of course said an interesting fact about me. Meeting these people really gave me the motivation to continue doing what I do with Femi Outreach. I met these people seeing how much of a great help they are for the underprivileged children throughout Chicago and seeing them take action.

There are not many people you will encounter who will actually take the time out of their lives to create something, like an organization, to let these children know that there is hope for their futures. Also, there are not many people who put their hearts and hard work into an organization as well. Femi Outreach is an organization that doesn’t just have people who just work for it. It has people that care to make a difference in these children’s lives and we care to take part in an action that creates a better future for these children.

serves as aftThroughout the day, there were interactive workshops based on topics such as Learning How to Build a Social Media Campaign, Making Youth Safety a Priority, Mentoring Models, and Engaging in Leadership Roles, just to name a few. I started off the morning with a workshop called Mentoring/Coaching Initiatives to Reduce Violence. Of all the other workshops provided, I chose this one. Why? Well, I felt that I would learn a lot of information that has never been explained to me before, and little do we know I DID. The reason why I enjoyed this workshop so much is because it was more of an interactive activity rather than someone up in front explaining statistics and other things to the audience. Instead, we had a great discussion on what we can do to reduce the violence.

I realized that with all the violence that has been going on in Chicago comes from a lot of people who do not have the strong, supportive family, friends or even mentors to stand behind them. They don’t have anyone telling them that staying in school is the key to saving your life. We discussed that the root causes of this violence comes from unsupportive family members, choices of bad friends, lack of community resources, and so on. So in the end, it really comes down to what we do as an organization. If Femi Outreach continues to do the great job that it does, then we are the reduction to the violence. During the second part of the morning workshops I participated in How to Build a Social Media. What I took from this workshop were ways to promote Femi Memorial Outreach Center.

After the morning workshops, we had lunch while watching a documentary called On the Front Line: Taking Back Our Streets. It was this very documentary that made me appreciate Femi Memorial Outreach more than I already do. This documentary basically followed young adults who took the wrong path in life because they felt that they had no support and no opportunities in their community to engage them to stay in school and out of trouble. This documentary also revealed angered communities due to the violence going on and the innocent lives lost because of it. One innocent life lost was that of Blair Holt. For those of you who may not know, Blair Holt was a 16-year old student from Julian High School, who was shot on the CTA bus trying to be a hero. He was not an intended target but was hit. They charged two teens with the crime and to hear that crime was committed by two young men was shocking. In this video, I witnessed the pain of his parents as they try to promote less violence in Chicago.

As we see more and more of the violence going on, that’s more chances for innocent lives being lost. What can we do? As said earlier, we can help those in need. Not give them money, nor jobs, but help them. Help them strive in a society where not so many people care about you. Give them hope, mentor them, and help them stay in school. On the Front Line: Taking Back Our Streets have expressed that if the violence continues, then it brings a burden of fear and hopelessness for those who have the ability to succeed. And this is why I’ve grown to love Femi Memorial Outreach more and more.

After the lunch break, we headed back to business. That’s right, the afternoon workshops started. I continued the afternoon with two workshops in the following order: Making Youth Safety a Priority and Your Exposure as a Social Capital within the Community. These workshops were more of “remedy” workshops. I reference them as “remedy” workshops because they were more of how we can make a difference and the steps we can take to do that. Promoting mentoring and tutoring organizations in underprivileged communities are great steps to take to kick off a successful organization. Encouraging family members and community residents that organizations like Femi Memorial Outreach Center are there is another great step as well. I enjoyed these workshops because they reminded me of the things Femi Outreach is doing, trying to help out in more communities throughout Chicago.

Femi Outreach doesn’t just tutor children; it gives them hope for their future success. Femi Memorial Outreach Center is an organization that helps students in Public, Charter and Catholic schools in Chicago. We help throughout these schools located on the North, South and West sides of Chicago. We help a diverse pool of children and we enjoy it as well. Not only are we helping out these children understand their work, we are learning a lot from them as well. From my experience as a tutor, providing after school help and in-class assistance, I learned that these children need me as much as I need them. I say this because they are our future doctors, lawyers, professors, mentors and even tutors. Femi Memorial Outreach Center shows children who do not have the support that we, the tutors, and even the CEO care about them. We will try and go out of our way and make sure that their homework is done; they stay out of trouble and in school. We care!

Keeping up the Tutor Mentor Connection

If you guys have been keeping up with our posts, you'd know that I mention the Tutor Mentor Institute more than any other organization. When I started working seriously with Femi Memorial Outreach, my first big non-profit conference was sponsored by the Tutor Mentor Institute. I think I learned more in that one, activity packed, day than I had in my first month as an administrator and program developer.

Many of our readers might not know this, but I'm only a college-student. So submerging myself in the culture of non-profits was both overwhelming and exhilarating. There is so much to learn, and so many obstacles to tackle. As a newcomer to the non-profit game, I'm sure the more well-seasoned participants roll their eyes at my naivete. Of course it's hard! The giant obstacles inherent in a non-profit are also what make it so dynamic. And, there's always someone out there more experienced and wiser to give you some advice.

Example: Here is the latest set of videos put out by the Tutor Mentor Institute and Becoming We The People. Taken from a panel discussion in Hyde Park, a couple of non-profit "experts" gave advice while participating in a panel on obstacles in non-profit business. Take a look.

You can find more here, as well as on Dan Bassil's, founder of the Tutor Mentor Institute, blog.