Be the Force
I’m flying
on a cloud and I don’t want to come down. Yesterday, I had the chance to speak
to a group of folks, most of them 20-somethings who work for a non-profit
called Youth Villages. (Read More)
These beautiful
and hard-working people work with troubled and at-risk youth both in care and
in their homes with their families. They listen to the needs of the young folks
they serve, the research they conduct regularly and the families the kids are
from, but they also listen to their own heart.
When I first
learned of their work, I watched a tape of their CEO, Patrick Lawler (who I
kept calling Cliff—crazy brain, crazy brain) as he spoke about his work, the mission and what
inspires him.
In addition to being a strategic thinker, Pat also lives from the
heart. The company is featured in a new book called Everyday Heroes along with
49 other amazing groups.
I was moved
to tears by a young woman I taught 27 years ago. Marcia came up and threw her
arms around me and said “Thank you for being my mentor." She reminded me of a
song I taught her class by Sweet Honey in the Rock;
We all, every one of us
has to come home again. Some of us, were born on the bottom, we grew up from
the bottom and we declared that we’d never return to the bottom.
Marcia had
not only remembered this song all of these years, she had committed it to her
life and her work. She grew up from the bottom and is earning her PhD.
When a band of old and young
performers played Love and Happiness,
I was in tears again; it was my mother’s favorite. Then when the band was
introduced and one of the members was the only survivor of the Bar-Kays, who all
went down on the plane that killed Otis Redding I was crying some more and I knew my
ancestors were speaking to me clearly.
“The Force
for Families;” is the mission and motto of Youth Villages and I witnessed a new
movement.
As I looked
out over the crowd of beautiful and diverse folks, I was reminded of the
abolitionist movement. It too was filled with young hopefuls of all races. It
was peopled by folks who knew they could make a difference and didn’t stop to
think about the risk, or the reward.
Read about
them, learn about what they do and then ask yourself, how you can be a force in
your community or town. What can you stand for? What can you change?
What song
can you dance to? Start with Love and Happiness. (click here and dance)
Be you, be well, be the
Force.
Bertice Berry, PhD.
I was in the sudience yesterday--YOU ROCKED THAT SPEECH! I am on the "something" side of those 20 year olds, but feel incredibly fortunate to have the opportunity to work with YV. The staff are amazing, dedicate professionals and the organization as a whole is top-notch. The best part of all is the privilege of being even a small part of the lives of the youth we serve--they are truly awesome and I learn so much from them.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your motivational thoughts with us all--in this case, something WAS right!
Thank you for speaking at our conference! You were wonderful and such an inspiration! I left the room feeling like a better person:)
ReplyDeleteI can't tell you how many people came up to me after your presentation and said you were the best "keynote" speaker we've ever had in the 15 years we've had an employee conference. Your delivery was impeccable but your heart for those in need is incredible. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteWe've all been doing "Somethin' ain't right" and sticking our teeth out to each other, howling with laughter. Thanks for being such a personal force for good and for sharing your talents with Youth Villages at our conference. You were outstanding!
ReplyDeleteMy staff have come back so impressed and inspired by your message last week at our conference Dr. Berry. It has helped refuel them to continue their movement with these children and families! We can't wait to share the video footage with our staff that stayed back so they too can hear your words of encouragement and support!
ReplyDelete