Recently I had the opportunity to watch a couple of middle school girls basketball games. They weren’t long—maybe 40 minutes each. But what I noticed was the dedication of the players and their coaches in action, one of whom was visibly an expectant mother.
How many times do we take the time to support our youth in action? I mean, yes, as parents, we may see it as an obligation to our role, but what about those who are not our children?
Up until five years ago, I didn’t know whether I would ever be a mother. My youngest brother died at four days old when I was just shy of four years old. My mom mourned over his death quietly for years after that. We visited his graveside every Memorial Day as a family growing up.
My mom also had four miscarriages, and she named every one of them: Alpha, Beta, Lambda, and Pi. I believe that is partly why children always held such a special place in her heart. And it showed in both her professional and community work.
She and my dad were my biggest cheerleaders growing up with everything I ventured out to do. By observing their sincere dedication to serving youth and young adults in their lifelong careers as educators, I realized I didn’t have to be a parent to encourage our youth—to make a dent in the universe.
Now more than ever, our world lacks the power of community, compassion for others, and a strong sense of giving back to the community. There are mentoring opportunities galore, and the shortage of volunteers is real. I recently started as a group mentor for middle school students through Partnership 4 Kids (thanks for the inspiration Damien Coran), and I highly recommend checking out their program or one in your local community. So when we see a young people striving, how can we level up our presence and show we genuinely care? There’s lots of ways to do it. What’s yours?
