CreateTheGoodFL
 
  My Profile  
 
  About Me  
 
  My Photos  
 
  My Videos  
 
  My Journals  
Offline
My Badges
Create The Good
Create The Good
Background
Birthday: February 24
Location:
St. Petersburg, Florida
United States
Work:
AARP-FL
My Websites:
www.createthegood.org
www.iparticipate.org
Quote:
Five minutes or five hours - find some time to Create The Good

About Me

There's a new spirt of service sweeping the country. Americans of all ages are coming together with out leaders to ensure that there are opportunities to make our nation a better place and to solve problems with citizen-powered solutions. Floridians, age 50 and older, have a lifetime of skills, experience and wisdom to share and they are giving back to their communities in astounding numbers

Interests:
Volunteering, community service
More About Me

My Photos (20)

All My Photos

My Videos (0)

This user does not have any videos.
All My Videos

My Journals (7)

Volunteer finds passion working with at-risk students in Miami

* In 2010 Create The Good Florida is recognizing service heroes -- people who contribute every day to their communities -- and highlighting the organizations they work with across the state. Catherine Houlihan, of Miami, is our service hero for January.

After graduating from college with a degree in social work, Catherine Houlihan was an Americorps volunteer for the“I Have a Dream Foundation” program in Miami. The national foundation was created in the mid 1980s.

The local affiliate program, funded by local business people, was started seven years ago in Miami and encourages at-risk youth to do well in school and pursue their education.

“I planned to work for a year and then go to graduate school,” Houlihan said. “I never expected that this would become my passion and change my life.”

As the end of her year of service was coming to an end, Houlihan kept looking for ways to stay on with the program. But reality hit when she was in a car accident and realized she couldn’t afford the deductible. That event forced her to get a full-time job, but it didn’t diminish her desire to continue to mentor children who needed her.

A year later, Houlihan works a full day, before heading to Overtown (near downtown Miami) to pick up two or three of her kids. Usually, she picks up two brothers from football practice, and then takes them out to dinner or for ice cream. They talk about their day, share their worries and problems and talk about how they are doing in school.

Houlihan rarely misses a day. The kids know they can call her and count her as one of the few constants in their lives. They shyly answer, “She says she loves us,” when asked why Miss Houlihan spends so much time with them.

“I can’t leave them,” she said. “I made a promise.”

Most days, her kids are doing well. Now in sixth and seventh grade, if they stay out of trouble, in school and graduate from high school, they will get paid tuition to any public university or college in Florida.

About “I Have a Dream Foundation”

Eugene M. Lang launched “I Have a Dream” in East Harlem in the early 1980s. It has since expanded to become an international program. Mark and Margie Buchbinder launched the Overtown program on Jan. 16, 2003 – Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday. Every student in the first grade that year at Phillis Wheatley Elementary – 51 boys and girls – entered the “I Have a Dream” program to form the “Overtown Dreamer Class of 2015.” Incentive to participate was powerful: a paid college education. A three-way contract was signed between children, parents and the sponsors: Stick with us, stay in school, graduate and we’ll pay your way through college.

Of the original 51 students, 35 graduated Phillis Wheatley in 2009 and currently attend Nautilus Middle School in Miami Beach. The Project Coordinator, Eric Lewis, keeps those Dreamers who have gone to other schools connected – through phone communication or coordinating their attendance to field trips and activities.

Success of the program owes to three factors: sponsorship, time and trust.

To make a donation or to learn more about the I Have a Dream Foundation, visit: www.ihaveadreamfoundation.org or contact Eric Lewis at ericsdream@edfundcft.com.

To learn how you can get involved in your community, visit www.createthegood.org.
.
 

 

Added: January 28, 2010
Views: 77 | Comments: 0 | Bookmarks: 0
All My Journals
 
  Comments (0)  
Add your Comments:

  Submit