You-Turn Spring/Summer 2008 Newsletter
Special Visit With Sentencing Judge R.R. "Babe" Thomas
When Ron Brashear was only 13 years old, he faced Judge R.R. "Babe" Thomas of the Hardin County Juvenile Court and was given his punishment for years of delinquent activities. The fate of the next chapter in his life was in some one else's hands, and this time he did not have a way to hustle out of the situation. With his mother and family looking on, Ron stood before Judge Thomas and listened as his punishment was read and he was sentenced to the Lincoln Village Youth Detention center in Elizabethtown, Kentucky.
We encourage you to click on the picture to the left to listen to the Judge "Babe" Thomas YOHCAST that Ron conducted in the home of Judge Thomas, and you will hear first-hand how life has come to a full circle for Judge Thomas and Ron Brashear and how they both feel today about the experiences they shared in their respective lives regarding each other. Another amazing aspect of this interview was that Ms. Doris Wheeler, Ron's mom, was able to witness Judge Babe Thomas' sentencing hearing for Ron as well as this interview highlighting a proud moment for Judge Thomas.
YOH President Conducts Personal You-Turn Training in Kentucky
 During the month of April 2008, YOH President & Founder, H. Ron Brashear addressed all of the youth face-to-face at two respective Youth Development Centers in the State of Kentucky. Mr. Brashear addressed the youth at Lincoln Village Youth Development and Regional Juvenile Detention Center in Elizabethtown (Ron’s hometown), as well as the youth incarcerated at the Audubon Youth Development Center in Louisville, Kentucky.
 Mr. Brashear shared his true-life experiences as a troubled youth and provided the youth with a presentation on making the personal ‘You-Turn’ necessary to lead to a more positive and productive life. The youth at both facilities were very attentive and asked very good questions during the Q&A sessions. Specifically, one youth asked Mr. Brashear, “What was the turning point for you to change your ways?” Mr. Brashear responded by stating, “While I was incarcerated and sitting behind those bars with the reality beginning to sit in that I had lost my freedom as a result of my wrong-doings and how much my actions had hurt my mom, I decided that I no longer wanted to live my life this way. Now, I am here requesting that you make a very similar personal commitment to do the same thing. If I can change, I have no doubt that you can change as well. It starts with a love of yourself!”
All of the youth at the Audubon YDC received an autographed copy of Mr. Brashear’s autobiography “Bouncing Back…Living life the right way,” along with the Personal ‘You-Turn’ training packet and a Youth of Honor wrist band that reads, GET YOH JUMP ON LIFE. The youth at Lincoln Village received a YOH wrist band as well. The YOH team is delighted to have the opportunity to work with the staff and leaders of Lincoln Village (Kristie Stutler – Superintendent and Gary Gardner – Fiscal Manager) and with Roger Noe (Superintendent) of the Audubon YDC, and his staff as well as working with the youth that they serve. Even the Deputy Commissioner for the Department of Juvenile Justice for the State of Kentucky (Ann Ellerkamp), along with members of her staff, made the drive down from the state capital of Frankfort, Kentucky to be in attendance at the presentation held at Lincoln Village YDC. “This is a strong sign of the commitment and support all the way up to the top of the leadership level to make a difference in the lives of the Kentucky youth being served at these respective facilities,” stated Ron. “We look forward to continuing our partnership with the Department of Juvenile Justice Kentucky team and wish all of them much continued success for the great work that they do. It is imperative that we never give up on our youth and we reach out to inspire them to re-evaluate their decisions whenever they veer off into a negative direction.” The YOH team is eagerly looking forward to speaking to more youth at other facilities throughout the world whom are incarcerated in addition to addressing youth before they get to the point of being confined for their wrong-doings.
To have YOH team come speak in your town, please visit our Speaking Engagement page or send us an email directly at info@youthofhonor.org so we can better understand your need and partner with you to ensure your youth, congregation or company receive the maximum value possible.
YOH Casts: Listen In To Legends
In a continuous effort to bring words of inspiration from various athletes, entertainers and icons to youth and adults around the world, the Youth of Honor Organization recently spent a few minutes with a pair of legends of our time. We are honored to have them take valuable time to speak to you and share with you some of their thoughts on life and our continual journey through it. We encourage you to make an investment in yourself by taking a few minutes today to become inspired for a better day. While not only raising the bar for yourself, why not take a minute and share these YOH Casts with a young person you know who is not only a sports fan but in need of a some uplifting motivation.
While in college and the NBA, Charles Barkley was known for his prowess around the glass and ability to grab rebounds. As you can hear in his YOH Cast, he was not always a stand out basketball player but took up the game as a way to stay out of trouble. He realizes that he was blessed with the ability play in the NBA. With his basketball career now behind him, and being recognized as one of the Top 50 NBA players of all-time, Charles can now be seen broadcasting NBA games for TNT. The same passion that fueled him on the hard courts now has enabled him to be very successful on the next leg of his life’s journey. Instead of just retiring, he leveraged his education and love for the game to transform himself into a well-respected broadcaster.
Back in the 70’s, the NFL was seen as a ‘tough guy, lunch pail’ type of league where the giants of the gridiron did battle each week in any type of weather that Mother Nature threw at them. It was during this time that the world met and witnessed a different type of player that was tough but also brought a flashy attitude and style to his game. ‘Broadway’ Joe Namath stood out from the rest. He suited it up each Sunday and possessed skills that took his team the NY Jets all the way to winning Super Bowl III as well as becoming a highly entertaining persona to the NFL. You can Google (actually GoodSearch) Joe Namath and read about his life, but we encourage you take a minute and listen in as he speaks to you and shares some thoughts on ‘change’. The YOH team encourages everyone to quit resisting change and to instead positively use it to create a better tomorrow.
To listen to these YOH Casts and many more, visit us online at www.youthofhonor.org/73.html
A New Look and Feel: Youth of Honor Website
For the past two years the Youth of Honor team has been speaking with youth about the topic of personal renewal. As a method to encourage this, the team leverages its Personal You-Turn training program which has been very well received in juvenile delinquency facilities in both Georgia and Kentucky. However, through the teaching of this class and listening to the feedback we have been receiving about our own organization, we are proud to announce a new look and feel to our website (www.youthofhonor.org). Thanks to the talents of Interscape, Inc. this make-over is intended to make it easier for you to keep up to date with the Youth of Honor team’s activities while allowing our message to resonate with the youth we serve.
Here is a short listing of some of the changes we put in place as a direct result of your feedback.
- Quick access to the YOH Online Store – We announced the opening of our store in our last newsletter but did not truly integrate it into the site; therefore we have added it to the common navigation area of the site so you are always just one click away.
- Improved site navigation - Through multiple consultation services with our web solutions partner, Interscape Inc., the Youth of Honor team settled on a simple, common header for all pages that provide a tabs into key areas of our organization to facilitate you quickly getting to the information you are looking for.
- Improved communcations - With the rollout of our new site re-design, you will also see that our email communications with you are more professional in appearance and provide you links to information within our site. As a great example, this You-Turn Spring Newsletter is leveraging these improved capabilities and hope that you find it easier to get up to date with our work. Send us your thoughts and feedback at info@youthofhonor.org
We encourage you to visit our website to see first-hand how the site can better inform you of our organization and activities. Over the next few months we will be rolling out some additional capabilities, so stay tuned as the Youth of Honor Organization continues to raise the bar for ourselves and troubled youth around the world.
Youth of Honor Turns TwoYears Old
Wow! It’s amazing how fast time flies bye. This can definitely be said in regards to the existence of the Youth of Honor organization. It was July 7th, 2006 when YOH officially became a registered organization eager to inspire youth around the world. We celebrate turning TWO!
 “It’s been a very rewarding journey thus far and words can hardly even describe how grateful we, as an organization, are for the wonderful support that we have received from community supporters, like you!” stated YOH President, Ron Brashear. Mr. Tom Grason shared, “I can vividly recall sitting down at the lunch table scribbling on a napkin, GET YOH JUMP ON and Ron and I kept bouncing the concept off each other until we brought LIFE to the equation.” So there you have it, this is how the YOH team took form and we are as equally committed today, as we were on day one, despite any and all obstacles that come our way, to make a positive impact on the lives of the youth we encounter.
We created a five-year plan and even in our wildest dreams, did we imagine to have experienced moments such as those displayed in our gallery of impact at this stage of our journey. Largely in part, thanks to you!
We hope to continue our relationship with you and look forward to keeping you abreast of our community impacts.
Sincerely,
The Youth of Honor Organization
Youth Statistics
 A recent report by the Editorial Projects in Education Research Center, a division of the non-profit organization that publishes Education Week, offered some alarming statistics on high school graduation rates: the 85 percent graduation rate for America's public high schools is actually closer to 70 percent, and only half of high school students in America's 50 largest cities make it to graduation at the end of 12th grade.
High School dropouts are twice as likely to be jobless after graduation, three times more likely to live in poverty, and eight times more likely to be incarcerated. Students who didn’t graduate in the class of 2007 will cost the nation more than $300 billion in lost wages, taxes, and productivity. As staggering as these numbers sound, they’re expected to get worse by 2009 after all 50 states, which previously used their own formulas to determine dropout rates, start using a new standardized method, established by the U.S. Department of Education, that counts only those who gain a traditional diploma after four years. To read the full story, visit http://www.uvm.edu/theview/article.php?id=2708
The YOH team believes that we must do all that we can to reverse this trend before it gets worse by encouraging our youth to value education and put forth their best efforts. EDUCATION...is the driver's license for success!
Corporate Corner: United Way
 Youth of Honor is proud to be working in partnership with United Way. If your organization participates in United Way Giving Campaigns through your employer, you have the ability to elect to have a portion of your contributions to be directed to the Youth of Honor Foundation. If you have any questions regarding how to make this happen, please feel free to contact us at info@youthofhonor.org
Searching For A Way to Support YOH?
Everyone today is surfing the internet to find the latest news, recipes, sports headlines and deals. Google has risen from a one-time startup to now a multi-million dollar company thanks to the use of their search engine. The Youth of Honor Organization would like to solicit your support by using our partnering search engine, GoodSearch, the next time you do a search on the web.
Yahoo has teamed up with GoodShop’s sister-site, GoodSearch.com, to donate a penny to your cause every time you search the web. This is totally free, as the money comes from advertisers. All you need to do is use GoodSearch to do your internet searches and select Youth of Honor Foundation. For each search you do, we will receive a penny. A penny may not sound like a lot, but it does add up and thanks to GoodSearch there is no cost to you for doing what you were going to do anyway.
Example:
- 100 People do 10 searches per day for 90 days = (100*10*90)*.01) = $900
- This $900 would pay for Personal You-Turn training material for 45 troubled youth
The Youth of Honor Organization would appreciate your support in 'searching' out a creative way to fund a delinquent youth's journey to a better life. Do a GoodSearch today and help us make a difference.
Article: The Coming Charity Crisis (Newsweek - June 12, 2008)
The following excerpt was taken from the June 12th, 2008 Newsweek article
The latest victims of the sagging economy: charities. In May the annual gala of the Robin Hood Foundation, an event at which a few thousand hedge fund magnates and leveraged buyout titans conspicuously display their wealth and commitment to social justice while rocking out to A-list musical guests (Shakira, John Legend, Sheryl Crow), raised $56.5 million, down 21.5 percent from $72 million the year before. (Tom Wolfe profiled the 2006 gala in Portfolio.) No surprise here. Many of the regulars have seen their net worths crushed in the past year.
But it's not just the charities of the swank that are suffering. The Salvation Army caters to a somewhat different crowd—i.e., tens of millions of middle-class Americans. And while it had a good Christmas, "since the first of the year, we've seen some slippage," says Maj. George Hood, a Salvation Army spokesman. Overall donations are down compared with 2007, and donations of used clothing and furniture to thrift shops have fallen by 20 percent. While natural disasters typically inspire a spike in donations, Hood says the earthquakes in China, the cyclones in Burma and the floods in the Midwest have yet to generate such an outpouring. Click here to see the full article http://www.newsweek.com/id/141161
 In closing, educating our youth to make the 'Personal You-Turn' is not a journey taken by a single pair of footprints. We hope that you join us in our efforts to help the youth we serve regain control of their life in a positive manner and re-enter society with the skills and vision needed to be successful. To better understand the Youth of Honor contribution levels available to you, please visit our Contribute page as no dollar amount is too small and it is our commitment to you to be good stewards of all funds provided.
|