Publish: The Pilot Newspaper
Date: Feb 8, 2009

As National Mentoring Month ends for 2009, let us express appreciation to all the wonderful mentors in Moore County.

January was a wonderful month of small events honoring the mentors’ dedication, but there are never enough ways to acknowledge the work they do in changing the lives of children — of giving them hope where there is little.

Communities In Schools has over 100 individuals meeting each month to mentor a child in need of just a little extra help to succeed in school.

I have been honored to mentor a wonderful young man for the last two years. I see his growth and his trust build each week. He has blessed my life with his stories, pain, laughter and accomplishments.

Each week I see the joy the students feel when their mentor arrives at school to visit, and how proud they are when they have reached a goal set with their mentor. During the course of the year, we ask our mentors to evaluate their experience to help us improve our program. Their responses are many and varied, but all have the same theme of hope for a better tomorrow.

Sincere and special thanks go to those who are volunteering their time to make a difference in the lives of children. Thank you to Dr. Robin Moore and Anna Harris who direct the Communities In Schools COMPASS Mentoring program.

You can make a difference too. Volunteer. Andi Korte, Executive Director, Communities In Schools, in Pinehurst.

Published: The Pilot Newspaper
Author: John Krahnert
Date: August 21, 2008

Two West Pine eighth-graders have given back to Moore County students in a big way.  As part of their summer Beta Club project, Angela Vecchione and Julianne Gant raised $761 by selling lemonade, iced tea, and water to spectators at the U.S. Kids golf championship in August. The money, donated as part of Community In Schools’ “Stuff The Bus School Supply Drive,” provided countless school supplies to Southern Pines Primary School.

“I guess we both thought there was a great need for this in our community,” Vecchione said.

The pair worked in conjunction with Pinehurst Resort to obtain permission to sell the beverages at the tournament. They obtained a permit from the village of Pinehurst to be there, and resort staff helped them set up.

“It seemed like a reasonable thing to do,” Gant said.

Southern Pines Primary Principal Mary Scott Harrison was thrilled with the efforts of the girls and Community in Schools.
“I just think it’s absolutely wonderful,” Harrison said. “We want all children to feel good when they come to school. We benefit tremendously from [the program].”

Vecchione and Gant said that their booth went over better than they could ever imagine. All sorts of people stopped by for a drink.
“We got a lot of donations,” Vecchione said. “It wasn’t anyone in particular, just whoever felt generous.”

A whole carload of supplies was delivered to Southern Pines Primary on Aug. 21. The items were given to students who needed supplies to start the year.

Each year, Communities In Schools partners with First Bank, the UPS Store, Wal-Mart, Staples, and Star 102.5 radio to collect school supplies for students as part of the “Stuff The Bus School Supply Drive.” Last year, Communities In Schools collected more than $22,000 in school supplies. The supplies were delivered to schools just in time for students to have them for the first day of school.

Communities In Schools is the nation’s largest dropout prevention organization. CIS focuses on mentoring, career education, health initiatives, and community outreach. Its mission is to “champion the connection of needed community resources with schools to help young people successfully learn, stay in school and be better prepared for life.”

Andi Korte, executive director of the local CIS organization, praised Vecchione and Gant’s efforts.

“Communities In Schools is proud of the community spirit exhibited by both of these students and applauds their efforts,” Korte said.
While they are pleased with the success they’ve had, Vecchione and Gant are already looking toward the future. They’re hoping to build on what they’ve started for next year and continue to help out Moore County students. “Next year, we want to expand the project to everyone in Beta at West Pine,” Vecchione said.

Published: The Pilot Newspaper
By: Kellen Moore
Date: June 8, 2008

Kathy Byron, board chairwoman of Communities in Schools of Moore County, received the prestigious H. Glenn Williams Power of One Award in Raleigh Saturday. Byron won the honor for her work in creating the FirstSchool Garden, an outdoor classroom at Aberdeen Elementary that integrates the school curriculum and teaches students about healthy eating and exercise.

“I’m deeply humbled and honored by it, but I don’t want anyone to think I did this alone,” Byron said in an interview. “The entire project was something that required a lot of input from a lot of facets of the community.” The award, which Byron accepted at the sixth annual N.C. Education Ball, is named in honor of Williams, a longtime Communities in Schools (CIS) volunteer and advocate for North Carolina children. The award recognizes volunteers who exemplify his same kindness, altruism and enthusiasm for helping children.

CIS, a United Way agency, is a national dropout-prevention organization that seeks to pair students with the community resources they lack to learn successfully — particularly through one-on-one relationships with adults. Byron was nominated by Andi Korte, executive director of CIS of Moore County, along with numerous others who sent letters attesting to Byron’s dedication.

“No one deserves it more,” Korte said. “She is just one incredible lady. Everybody who meets her falls in love with her, she’s so caring.”
The FirstSchool Garden began when Aberdeen Elementary alerted CIS of Moore County that students needed more exercise and a way to learn about good nutrition. After securing a grant from the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation, and donations from the Moore Regional Hospital Auxiliary and Quality Built Homes, volunteers created the garden on Sept. 6, 2007 — the United Way Day of Caring.
‘Boundless Enthusiasm’

But it was Byron’s efforts that took the project from a collection of plants to a virtual garden of Eden, Korte said. “She became so involved with the kids and the school and the success of it,” Korte said. “She really went out beyond the scope of the project.”  Spending 30 to 40 hours a week at the school, Byron was able to use her expertise as a Master Gardener, a person who receives horticultural training in exchange for volunteering and sharing gardening information with the community.
She also was able to draw on her professional skills. Formerly a registered nurse who focused on child and adolescent psychiatry, Byron said her experience came in handy with the more than 300 students at the school.  Byron helped the students grow a cornucopia of organic lettuce, broccoli and herbs. She brought in residents from the community to tell the students about worm composting and rain barrels, and built bluebird houses and scarecrows.  She sent home packets of herbs at Thanksgiving for families to add to their meals, and taught the students to cook broccoli soup and mini-pizzas from the ingredients they harvested. And she did the grunt work, hauling mulch and cutting grass.
“From the project inception, Mrs. Byron has shown initiative, boundless enthusiasm and endless energy,” Betsy Spencer, a CIS VISTA volunteer, wrote in a letter to the award selection committee. “Mrs. Byron acts as though this were a full-time job with a million-dollar salary!”
‘Sustainability Is Everything’

The grateful words of some students, scrawled on thank-you postcards, also demonstrated how much they enjoyed Byron and the garden.
“Thank you for letting us have the opportunity to let us play with the worms,” one student wrote. “It feels like you have been letting us do all the fun things. Thank you for letting us cook delicious food. Most of all, thank you for caring about us. Also thank you for treating us like we are your own kids.”

Because of the resounding enthusiasm for the garden, the Moore Regional Hospital Auxiliary awarded grants to CIS and FirstHealth Community Health Services for four more gardens at Academy Heights Elementary, Pinehurst Elementary, Vass-Lakeview Elementary and Pinecrest High schools.  That enthusiasm also led Korte to nominate Byron to the selection committee of North Carolina leaders, who selected Byron and four other recipients to receive recognition and a memento at the Education Ball.  Proceeds from the ball, which also included showcased talent and live and silent auctions, benefited CIS of North Carolina.  This year, local students from the CIS Hospitality and Golf Academy participated in the opening ceremony, singing, “When the Saints Go Marching In” with a marching band.

As part of the award, a $1,000 donation also will be made in Byron’s name to a charity of her choice.

So how did Byron choose to donate her winnings?
“It’s going to go straight back to the garden,” she said. “Sustainability is everything.”