December 2000

“I have found that among its other benefits, giving liberates the soul of the giver.” - Maya Angelou

Santa Claus Came to Town
Every Christmas many children in Baton Rouge go without receiving any new toys  or gifts. There are long waiting lists of children who are hoping someone will come forward and provide them with a new toy. These special needs children would not receive gifts for Christmas without the assistance of benevolent members of their community. Fortunately, Mr. Bill McMillin, of Bill McMillin Interiors, turned into a modern day Santa Claus this year, continuing his tradition of giving. For the past three years Mr. McMillin, with the help of the Young Leaders, has enjoyed shopping for toys for needy children. Two years ago, Mr. McMillin and many Young Leaders purchased toys for children in Honduras affected by the 1998 hurricane. Last year Mr. McMillin and the Academy used their holiday cheer to help out the Baton Rouge Early Intervention Program (EIP).

The Early Intervention Program is a family-oriented program designed to assist infants and toddlers with special needs, ages birth to three years, to maximize their developmental potential.

This year the EIP Program staff worked diligently to give its organization’s children and their families a memorable Christmas by buying them winter clothes and toys, but it was a hard task to achieve for so many children. Mr. McMillin and the Young Leaders’ Academy decided to select and purchase toys again this year for the children of the EIP Program so that the EIP could allocate more funds toward the childrens’ winter clothing.

Mrs. Ann Phillips, an EIP Parent Consultant, said that the EIP had a list of over 100 children who were at risk of not receiving any toys for Christmas. She also said that there were many older children on the waiting list, and that older children are often the most forgotten age group because there are many more services for younger children. These older children were siblings of EIP clients and older EIP clients. The Young Leaders enjoyed shopping for 37 children on the waiting list. It was a fun challenge to pick out appropriate toys for the different age groups. The Young Leaders shopped for boys and girls ages two years old through sixteen years of age.

Shopping for other children was a rewarding experience for the Young Leaders. Young Leader Marcus Paul was quoted as saying that “sharing is what the Christmas season is all about.” Young Leader Jeremiah Williams said that he wanted to let children know that we love them. Young Leaders Carlton Miller and Nicholas Robinson said simply that they loved this project because they love doing things for other children.

Light Up The Town
Harding Boulevard was alive with activity on December 2, 2000 when members of Baton Rouge Green, Group 2 Young Leaders, and the neighborhood residents' association joined hands to decorate the boulevard with Christmas tree lights. The area that was decorated spanned from Southern University to the Interstate. Every Saturday the Young Leaders' Academy drives down this boulevard on their way to academic classes at Southern University. Young Leader Julius Greenhouse said, "I feel that I added life to the community with decoration."

Young Leaders Brandon Odom (left) and Myron Goins (right) wrap Christmas tree lights around a tree on Harding Blvd.

Family Road
Team work is something Group 4 Young Leaders learned on December 16, 2000 when they went to Family Road to clean up their front yard. If they did not work together, then they would drop the bag of leaves and have to rake all over again, as they soon found out!

In addition to raking leaves and cleaning the front yard so that clients of Family Road would have a warm, welcoming atmosphere, Young Leaders also sorted the many donations Family Road received for their new Career Closet. After completing job training classes, clients of Family Road select an outfit to wear to job interviews.

Young Leader Joshua Akins said that it took team work and perseverance to finish their jobs.
 

Young Leaders (from left to right) Malon Lee, Dominique Smith, Luther Peters and Adrian Greenhouse work together to clean up the yard at Family Road.

Food Bank
The Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank received 685,470 lbs. of donations in the month of November 2000. The Food Bank provides services to over 100 agencies in a 12 parish area.

On December 2, 2000, The Young Leaders' Academy Group 5 helped sort some of these donations into their proper containers. The Young Leaders worked with other community volunteers, such as Exxon Excite and teenagers from area high schools. Young Leaders, such as Jacob Akins, said they enjoyed working with the teenagers and other volunteers. Young Leader Jared Vincent said everyone cooperated with each other to get the job done.

Young Leaders, such as Justin Cage pictured above, had fun sorting through food at the Baton Rouge Food Bank.

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