This is Part 2, in a 4 part series about volunteer opportunities at ReUse in 2009.  Please share with your friends and family.

As a senior in high school, I had a running tally on the back of my Physics notebook counting the number of days until freedom.  I loathed high school and even now that word does not seem remotely accurate enough to describe the intensity of my feelings at the time.  As an added insult, several of my closest friends were heading off to universities to become TEACHERS!  Many had the gall to say to me, “Gainer, you’d be a great teacher, you should look into it.”  My response, “NEVER!  Inconceivable!  Impossible.”  Five years later, after about 6 changes of my major, I graduated with my B.S. in Science Education and have enjoyed many alternative teaching opportunities.

My school did not serve me, it did not respect my learning style, or even care what I really thought.  Instructors were, as they are now, concerned about test scores, about a cookie cutter curriculum that rewarded winners and punished losers.  Even more so now than back in my day, schools have an increasingly narrow perspective of education and consequently thousands of young people never reach high school graduation.  Young people leave school for hundreds of reasons, but the travesty is that we’re not analyzing the problem and consequently not serving those that the system has failed.

I think about education a lot–especially how it can be truly effective.  I also think about the 54% of the youth in the City of Buffalo that have been denied a just education–one which embraces the unique skills and learning abilities of each student, and focuses on the development of the whole being.  It is unacceptable to deny any young person a quality educational experience, and yet, this is exactly what our educational system does each day.

In 2009, Buffalo ReUse will model a young adult mentoring and training program for out-of-school youth.  It is critical that young adults that have left the school system find safe places where they can feel supported as human beings, where their unique skills and talents can be nurtured and applied to creating positive changes in our neighborhoods, and where they are exposed to all that is possible.  We’ve been able to do this in very small ways at ReUse, but it’s time that we create a more effective model.  To do so, we need your help!

PART II:  54% Out-of-School is not acceptable!

The Vision:  To create a model, young adult mentoring and training program that serves out of school youth and serves the community.  Youth will receive the support of mentors, while also completing intensive projects that improve the quality of life in our urban neighborhoods.  Our young adults will be exposed to intentionally diverse opportunities and work with their educational advisor to develop a plan for attaining their future personal and professional goals.

 The NEEDS: 

• Researchers…to investigate and present best practices for similar programs across the country and to create a clear picture of the current conditions of education in Buffalo and New York State.
• Educational Curriculum Design…to create a curriculum for the program that includes tools for assessment and evaluation. 
• Young Adult Mentors…to host youth for week, month, or semester-long apprenticeships in your field of work.  To be a resource person for a young adult with a specific interest or idea. 
• Grant researchers/writers…to identify potential sources of local, state, and national funding from public and private sources.  To create a grant template that outlines the vision, curriculum, and assessment tools that will enable the program. 

The STEPS to get involved: 

• Send an email to volunteer {at} buffaloreuse(.)org with a description of your ideas and interests, including your contact information.
• Attend planning, sessions, brainstorms, and events where the planning and implementation for these ideas will begin and take place.  We will inform you of sessions relevant to your interests.

Implementation:  Michael Gainer will be leading the effort to create and implement the Young Adult Mentoring and Training Program (and yes, we need to think of a good name).  Our hope is to identify the requisite funding and create the necessary framework to initiate this program in 2009. 

Stay Tuned…for TIME and TALENT:  Part 3…”there’s so much to do, these things are just a few”!
Onward,
Michael and the ReUse Gang