The United Way’s Youth Success Impact Council awarded 3 programs for its successful student transition initiative. One grant award went to the Terre Haute Children’s Museum which has partnered with Sarah Scott Middle School to help incoming 6^th graders have a successful transition into middle school. By partnering with the museum, Sarah Scott Middle School has expanded on its participation in Where Everyone Belongs (WEB) through the Boomerang Project. WEB has successfully transitioned 6^th graders for over 25 years by addressing the three fundamental transition needs that every student has: Safety, Information, and Connection.

To help further the need for connection, Sarah Scott WEB coordinators wanted to find a way to keep incoming students together for longer than the standard one-day orientation, without adding stress to teachers. As a result, they used the student’s love for STEM which emerged because of their school’s Silly Science Day to turn Camp Curiosity into a weeklong camp.

The free weeklong camp known as Camp Curiosity: Basic Training brought together WEB Leaders, who are 8th-grade students, and incoming 6^th graders to further strengthen the relationship between them, so the 6^th graders would be more comfortable when school starts. Through connections and comfort at school, the hope is that students will have better attendance, grades, and behavior, and will become more involved once school begins. This is important because studies show that if students have a positive experience during this critical transition to middle school, the chances of them succeeding increase.

In the first year of the program, 23 students participated in the camp, which took place in June 2022. The students were from 4 different elementary schools. This allowed students to make connections with students from other schools, easing the pressure of meeting new people and making friends when school started. The camp took place at Sarah Scott to give the students a chance to become familiar with the building before school. Scotia Brown, principal of Sarah Scott Middle School, said, “I am so grateful for the United Way of the Wabash Valley and the Terre Haute Children’s Museum’s support because this program is truly going to make a difference in the lives of these 6^th and 8^th graders. I am so excited to see what the next few years hold as we continue to grow this program!”

Gianna, an 8th-grade mentor, shared, “It was really fun to participate in the camp because I got to connect with the new 6^th graders and be a role model for them.” She also shared, “My favorite part of camp was making the golf courses with the 6^th graders because I was able help to them.”

By focusing on teaching these specific skills, the program is working to help develop children’s social and emotional skills. Taradara, a published author, saw these skills in action during her last classroom visit. During this visit, she read a book called Do Unto Otters, which is about treating others how you would like to be treated. This message was put into action when she saw how a young girl’s peers reacted when she got emotional while telling a story. The peers reacted by consoling her and trying to make her feel better which emphasized the message of the book.

In addition to being a published author, Tradara McLaurine is a motivational speaker, a three-time alumna of Indiana State University, and a loving wife and mother. She has also worked in higher education for over 15 years. Her most recent accomplishment is publishing a book called I Want a Nickname this year. The story focuses on a young girl with a very unique name and her journey to find a nickname. The other books she has written are called Why Mommy Works and Why Daddy Works.

Her passion for writing and reading was one reason why she volunteered for the Reading Neighbors program. She said, “I got involved because I love giving back to the community, and it’s also so important for children to see women of color and people who look like themselves reading.” Overall, she loved the experience and said the kids get more excited with every classroom visit!

“We are most grateful to the United Way to be able to correct this dangerous situation!” stated Kathy Miller, Hungarian Hall.

An important part of this program is just building relationships with the mentees. The mentor stated that the first few sessions are always rough and the mentees resent the mentor. He recalled that one day the mentees were making fun of his shoes, and he began to pick on himself a little bit and in turn, gained their respect. He says now, he often gets texts or phone calls from the mentees whenever they need someone to talk to.

The mentor shared the story of a student athlete who was arrested at the age of 15 for stealing a vehicle. He did not have a good home life, and both parents have been in and out of jail.  The student had also been in the foster system for a long time, but he was recently taken in by his best friend’s family. After participating in the program for three years, he now has a 3.89 GPA and can go to any college in Indiana. Similarly, another athlete who was detained a few months has seen a big change. The mentor described that since August, this student has broken up several fights and walked away from situations he normally wouldn’t. They have seen improvement in his grades and he’s started to think about graduation and the future.

Shawn Pendergraf, Peer Recovery Specialist, said, “Our community needs peer recovery coaches because there’s still a real-life drug crisis in our community. Peer recovery is evidence-based practice and is the embodiment of reducing stigma. Allowing us to become coaches is one of the biggest ways to reduce stigma and it is the bridge between those in active addiction and the community that wants to help.”  Peer Recovery Specialists are important because they understand and have gone through the same experiences of those they want to help.

The funds have allowed Next Step to conduct multiple local peer recovery specialist trainings and so far, they have trained over 60 new peer recovery specialists. Training peers locally gives the solution to our problems right here.  Shawn stated, “I grew up hearing that it takes a community to raise a child and I believe that it takes a community to help someone recover. Training peers locally is a way to get people involved locally, and it is a strong statement for our community health by taking it on personally.”

As part of the United Way’s commitment to supporting Strong Neighborhoods, we partnered with Pastor Mike Pringle and Grace Community Church on projects in 12 Points. Grace Community Church utilized a grant to beautify the area, creating a flower garden to help protect Blessing Boxes located in the church lot. Pastor Mike Pringle also used a grant to help with concrete work for the outdoor patio/stage area he has built for public use.

Local school leader Derek Grant stated, “So many of our students go home each day without being able to count on family to help reinforce learning concepts that they learned in school, or even to be able to help finish simple homework assignments. Many kids from our school get off the bus and head home to an empty house. “The Way Forward” gives students in our small town a place to go to receive homework help and tutoring when they might not have access to any help outside of the school day.”

Merom tutors also shared the story of Kaci and Elika. Both girls started coming to tutoring in January to work on their spelling. After spending time sounding out words and taking many practice tests, they both became a whiz at spelling and math. The girls also loved to play Monopoly or Scrabble as a reward for their hard work. Their parents were grateful and plan to bring them back for the fall semester. Overall, they believe it has been a great success. United Way and Merom Church are glad they were able to provide this service and hope to see it continue to flourish in the future.

These services are vital to the community and helping families get back on track. Stacie, a mother of three, left her abusive boyfriend after she lost her kids. She was unemployed and having a hard time showing CPS that she could take care of her children. She learned about the Brazil United Methodist Church through Salvation Army, and the aid they provided helped her get back on track. She got a job, moved into an apartment, and currently has visitation with her kids with hopes they will soon be back with her permanently.

Stacie is one of many of the families served who have decided to give back by volunteering. UMC says one of their biggest blessings was meeting Kim. She came through the drive-thru line to receive a hot meal and some groceries. Talking with her, they discovered she had just moved to Brazil, lived close to the church, and had experience running food pantries and soup kitchens in the past. Kim asked if she could come help the next week, and has been with them every week since.

The great partnership between United Way of the Wabash Valley and the Brazil United Methodist Church has allowed for the continuation of these programs, and in turn, the ability to help families in need. The program demonstrates that when you give back, you get back as proven by the recipients who become consistent volunteers.

While providing meals for anyone who needed it, the program was also able to provide meals for a mother who was diagnosed with COVID and was not able to leave home. The program was able to deliver hot meals for her and her children. Another story comes from a woman who was recently diagnosed with cancer. Because of her compromised immune system, she could not leave her home due to the pandemic. Being able to have hot meals delivered made her life much less stressful and she could focus on recovering.

Thanks to the support of the United Way of the Wabash Valley, Pace was able to make this program a success.

Because of United Way of the  Valley’s support, Kid Kare has been able to stock food pantry shelves in Vigo, Parke, and Vermillion counties serving 1700 individuals. In addition to the food pantry, their support to Kid Kare Project has also provided basic need items such as hygiene products, school supplies, shoes, underwear, diapers, laundry detergent, and household cleaning supplies.

A mother who recently found the courage to enter substance abuse rehab wrote, “This summer I was able to make it to the in-house store [supply closet] and get some extra clothing items. I got swimsuits for the baby and even some shirts for my teenage son as these items are hard for me to afford and we were in need. He was very surprised! It really helped add relief, surprise, gratitude, and happiness to my children when they otherwise wouldn’t have had any. It really just makes our hearts believe really great things when otherwise we would have really been empty. It touched our family as it validated my children adding a sense of worth and love reminding them they are special and people do care, filling their days with loving memories reminding them there are still good people out there willing to help. I’m really amazed and thankful for this program’s compassion and overwhelming support.”

The mother successfully completed rehab and remains clean and sober, and she has been so motivated by the generosity shown to her and her family that she wants to help others in the future.  This is just one of the many families Kid Kare has been able to support.