KRISTENWhen Kristen moved recently to Summit County, she was looking for ways to connect with her new community. Through United Way’s Women’s Leadership Council Mentoring Program she found that connection. This volunteer-based program works to inspire and cultivate young women.

Kristen was paired with a senior professional woman to be her mentor for a year – but was also given something she never would have thought to ask for: 12 peers-as-mentors. By attending monthly workshops with smart, ambitious mentors and mentees from various companies and organizations, Kristen discovered new pathways to reach her full potential.

In the early group meetings mentees outlined their career and personal goals. Speakers were found to address topics in which the mentees expressed interest. The group also organized sessions on basic skills, such as budgeting and conflict management.

“I had a wonderful experience,” said Kristen. “The one-on one-meetings were highly valuable to me because the mentor I was paired with truly took an interest in me. The group meetings were great as well. The mentors were happy to share both their professional and personal experiences around work life balance, professional fulfillment and especially community service and philanthropy.”

Kristen is an engineering associate with The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. As she reflected on her experience as a mentee, she emphasized that she knows achieving success throughout life can depend on choices made in early adulthood. Said Kristen, “The Women’s Leadership Council Mentoring Program was a great choice for me.”SU

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JUDYJudy is one busy lady. Her days are filled with job interviews, volunteering and applying to colleges to complete her degree in criminal justice. Her ultimate goal is to attend law school and have a career advocating for people’s rights.

Not long ago Judy was serving five years probation for a felony conviction. The conviction cost her job, car and home. She found herself homeless for four years, one of which she spent living in a storage unit.

But Judy’s life turned around when she found the United Way supported Summit County Reentry Network. Through the network she found a support group and a landlord willing to take a chance on her. She earned her Certificate of Qualification for Employment and is in the process of having her conviction expunged. Most importantly, Judy has found hope.

Like Judy, more than 2,500 felony ex-offenders return to Summit County each year. Not all are able to successfully transition into life outside the walls on their own. This can lead to fragmented families, crime-ridden neighborhoods and taxpayers burdened with a growing corrections budget. The Summit County Reentry Network helps newly released felons obtain housing, employment, transportation, education and counseling. And like Judy, these returning citizens can find hope for the future.

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TROYTroy is committed to helping his 11-year old son Xavier with his homework. And, even though he works two jobs and is looking for a better one, Troy attends nearly all of Xavier’s football practices and games. He is proud to be an involved and responsible dad.

Not too many years ago, Troy had several run-ins with the police and in 2002 he spent a year in prison. At the time he was leaving behind his 22-year old girl friend and their one-week old son, Xavier. While Troy was in prison his girlfriend was murdered.

When Troy was released from prison his first goals were to straighten out his life and connect with his one-year old son. Troy said “I had to make a serious change in my mind, the way I did things and the way I presented myself to my community. I didn’t have all the answers and I needed to go to someone or somewhere I could find guidance on fatherhood.”

Lucky for Troy and Xavier, Troy also connected with the United Way supported Summit County Fatherhood Initiative. The Fatherhood Initiative is a county-wide collaboration that helps at-risk fathers develop healthy relationships with their children. The initiative provides education and resources to men who have been absent from their children’s lives. The result – stronger families and children who grow up to be responsible members of our community.

Troy knows there is a lot at stake in what type of father he is to Xavier – Troy grew up without his own father. But the positive impact that Troy is making in his son’s life is obvious. “With my dad at my games, I feel better and I care more,” said Xavier. “I love him a lot because he is a very good dad. If you make a mistake, he’ll make you keep going and going…make you lift your head up. My dad loves me and would do anything for me.”

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KERRYKerry has yet to graduate from high school, but he’s already completed an internship in a law office, which puts him one step closer to his goal of becoming a lawyer. The Firestone High School senior is one of 60 local high school students who participate in the United Way-supported Law and Leadership Institute summer academic program.

“Two years ago I interned at Buckingham, Doolittle & Burroughs,” recalls Kerry. “I got to meet all the people, talk to the paralegals, and even debate with attorneys on Obama’s health care act.”

The Law and Leadership Institute brings together partners including United Way, The University of Akron School of Law and the legal community to prepare students from underserved communities for college and professional success through a four-year academic program in law. The goal of the program is to increase diversity in law school and in the legal profession.

Through a summer camp program at The University of Akron campus, the students take classes led by law students, hear guest speakers, go on field trips and work as legal interns. Students continue in the program throughout the academic year, meeting on several Saturdays throughout the fall and spring semesters to build upon the skills gained during the summer.

Most of the participating students, like Kerry, are from Akron Public Schools, Barberton High School or Coventry High School and most will be the first members of their families to attend college.

United Way is committed to creating opportunities for young people like Kerry to get the most out of their journeys from cradle to career. Kerry’s story is a testament to the kind of positive change we can achieve when various segments of our community come together to create lasting change.

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NEVAN, BEKAH AND JENNIE

Each day, Nevan and his sister Bekah run to the window when they hear the mail truck and then to the mailbox to see if they have received a new book. “They absolutely love reading and when we get new books in the mail, I know we will be reading them over and over again until we all know them by heart,” says their mother, Jennie. “The books have sparked their interest in many different subjects.”

The United Way-sponsored Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library offers children like Nevan and Bekah from birth to age five an early start to a lifetime of learning. Each month a new and carefully selected book is mailed to the homes of children enrolled.

Nevan’s favorite book is entitled “Pretend.” Jennie says, “It’s about using your imagination and just like in the book, Nevan will pretend that our couch becomes a boat and he sails it to a magical island. Bekah’s favorite is ‘My Farm Friends.’ She is wild about animals, especially cows. The book is so worn from her reading it that it had to be re-bound with duct tape!”

The free program encourages and supports parental involvement in their children’s learning. Since its launch in 2008, Imagination Library has placed more than 22,000 books into the hands of more than 1,000 Summit County children. These books represent the gift that keeps on giving: research shows that expanding a child’s’ access to books encourages their love for learning, improves reading comprehension, and helps foster stronger bonds within the family – a crucial support system that will fuel long-term success in school ,and in life, for children like Nevan and Bekah. SU

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AUNDREY AND JONATHAN

Prepare, Cultivate. Nurture. Grow. Each of these words could refer to tending a garden, or encouraging healthy habits in kids. On the west and south-sides of inner-city Akron, Eden’s Blessing is a group doing both.

In 2013, Aundrey and Jonathan met as participants in the Neighborhood Leadership Institute of Summit County – a joint program of United Way and the Akron Area YMCA designed to train local residents to promote positive change in their neighborhoods. Aundrey and Jonathan worked together to transform two once-derelict lots each into an urban oasis for kids and their families.

Garden improvements were made possible through local business offers of plants, tools, material and manpower. Throughout the growing season neighborhood kids, children attending the YMCA’s summer day camp and Boy’s and Girl’s Club programs, Girl Scouts and high-risk students from the Phoenix school tend to the gardens and the fruits and vegetables planted there.

One of the primary pathways to health is through good nutrition. Children who live in low-income communities are disproportionately overweight, a condition that can lead to adult heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure. Eden’s Blessing gardens directly target these issues by creating places where kids can learn how to plant, grow, harvest, prepare and love healthy food.SU

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REBECCARebecca is pleased to be considered a role model and advocate for people living in poverty. As an Americorps VISTA working in support of Bridges Summit County, Rebecca connects residents of public housing with resources and knowledge to help them move toward a better life. In exchange, Rebecca is receiving an income stipend and college tuition that will allow her to begin to realize her dreams of completing her education, owning her own home and having a full-time career.

At one time, Rebecca had been well on the road to achieving those dreams. She had earned her associate’s degree and was on her way to earning a bachelor’s degree. In 2007, a series of catastrophic life events sent Rebecca and her two daughters on a downward spiral to economic ruin. Domestic abuse, divorce, debilitating illness and tens of thousands of dollars in unpaid child support meant that the family found themselves relying on public assistance to survive.

Observed Rebecca: “It is incredibly difficult to get out once you become entangled in the public assistance system.” But as soon as her health was nearly fully restored, she began planning her exit strategy. United Way-supported Bridges Summit County “Getting Ahead” classes gave her the motiva-tion and momentum she was looking for. “It is so important to know you are not alone and that help is available,” said Rebecca. “I am feeling so positive about my future! And, I am not stopping – I don’t ever want this feeling to go away.”

Rebecca’s story is the story of a hardworking mother who is now on the road to financial stability. But her positive experience is really just one chapter in the larger story of how United Way is bringing people and organizations together to turn our entire community around – because the whole community benefits when more working individuals and families are able to support themselves and their families.

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YAMINAHToday, Yaminah is proud of where she is and where she is going. An Americorps VISTA working in support of Bridges Summit County, she is earning income and tuition to complete the four courses she still needs to earn her bachelor’s degree in social work. With assistance from Akron Metropolitan Housing Authority, she is also saving a portion of her earnings to buy for herself and her three children the house where she currently lives.

But, Yaminah’s future did not always look so bright. She grew up in generational poverty and in a family gripped with severe substance abuse. “Growing up in public housing, everyone in our neighborhood was in the same or a similar situation,” said Yaminah. “We really didn’t know about any other way of living, but even as a child I knew I wanted something better.”

Yaminah was an exceptional student, and under the mentorship of a favorite teacher, she received straight A’s in all subjects. At age 17 she had her first child, and also a full-ride scholarship to The Ohio State University. She soon found, however, she was not equipped to be a single parent and full-time student so far from home. Family pressures caused her to seek student loans to help support her parents and siblings even though her college expenses were paid. Overwhelmed and discouraged, Yaminah dropped out of college and returned home -- debt-ridden and unemployed.

Determined to begin again, Yaminah signed up for the United Way-supported Bridges Summit County “Getting Ahead” program and began making new plans for her future. And she took advantage of every opportunity that came her way – taking online college courses, participating in United Way’s Neighbor-hood Leadership Institute and the Women’s Leadership Council Mentoring Program, and applying for an Americorps VISTA position to support the Bridges Summit County initiative. With assistance from the United Way-supported Summit County Reentry Network she had some long-ago misdemeanor charges expunged.

United Way is a driving force for change when it comes to helping motivated people like Yaminah create their own pathways out of poverty. Through initiatives like Bridges Summit County and others, United Way is making great progress in helping Summit County families get on solid financial ground.

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