Essay Contest Winners!

January is National Mentoring Month and each year WYN celebrates through an essay contest. This year's theme for the contest was "Who inspires joy in you?" After reading all of the entries, we are proud to announce the winners!


1st Place Winner - Wriston Hoke and Rebekah Farthing

2nd Place Winner - Kayla Trivette 

Congratulations to our winners, and thank you to all those who participated! Read further for the full essays.

1st Place Winner
Wriston Hoke

Ben Erzkus

Ben Erzkus is a Vicar at Grace Lutheran Church. He often helps direct our service. Ben is a seminary student in Maryland, but he is in Boone as a year-long intern. The day before school started, I moved in with my younger brother and his old foster parents. On Sundays, my brother and I go to Grace. Ben is in charge of the Confirmation class, which is a type of bible school through which kids confirm their faith. On Sunday nights, our Teen youth group meets for devotions and a meal. Though only a few teens go,  Ben is always there to socialize, eat, and pray with us.

Ben is the best mentor I have ever met. He helps me with advice when I need it. For example, I can tell him about how my week has gone, and if it was a bad week, he will cheer me up with his humor, or he will drive me home while we listen to Classic Rock on the radio. We both like Classic Rock and football. Ben is the person who has influenced me to play football next year. Ben is also great musician. He taught himself to play piano, drums, and guitar. One weekend, our teen youth group and leaders decided to go to Lutherock, a church camp close to Lenoir, to clean it up. Ben went with us, and while we were there, he taught me how to play chords on a guitar. The Sunday before Halloween, he lent me his own first guitar. It was a Fender that he had bought when he was in high school. Ben has loaned me his guitar until he has to leave next July. Ben is very understanding and is one of the best friends I have ever had. 

1st Place Winner
Rebekah Farthing
Parkway School
6th Grade

Who Inspires Joy in You?

    My mom inspires joy in me because she does everything for me. Some things my mom does for me is she takes time out of her day just to do something for me. Like yesterday she took me to my chorus concert when she had to go to work. Another thing that she does for me is she buys me things. Things that my mom buys for me is nice clothes, food, Christmas presents, blankets, a warm bed, and many more things. I love my mom sooooo much because she taught me to treat others the way I would want to be treated because it will help you a whole lot in life. My mom also takes me to church where I can learn how to be a good person and she helps me to be the best person I can be. I love my mom because she inspires joy in me!

2nd Place Winner
Kayla Trivette
Parkway School
6th Grade

Who Inspires joy in you?
The person that makes the joy in me come out is my Great Grandmaw. She makes the joy in me come out because she is always so nice to me. She helps me when I’m down, she helps me with my homework if I need it and last of all she loves me.

Be A WYN Superhero!

Western Youth Network

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Be A WYN Superhero!

GIVE $25

Superheroes Change Lives Have you ever wanted to fly faster than a moving plane, or wished that you had super human powers to fight evil and save the world? Well....now is your chance! You can use your power to change a child's life today by becoming a WYN SUPERHERO! Sign up for online monthly giving today for just $25 a month, and you will join other community heroes who care about our children's future. That's it! What can $25 do? Provide 2 days of After School for one child Provide 3 days of Mentoring for two children  Provide 1 day of healthy snacks For just $25 you will ensure that our community's children are supported, educated, and empowered. So, give today - and help us reach those youth who need us most!                                                                              DONATE NOW

For more information, contact Faith Motter at motterf@westernyouthnetwork.org or (828) 264-5174.

A Good Haircut

My name is Ashton, and I am a WYN mentor. Yesterday I had the opportunity to take my mentee to have her hair done at Haircut 101. This was such a fun and exciting moment, especially because we were able to share it together! The cosmetologists at the salon were so welcoming and made it special for her. But the best part of the experience was watching her smile at herself in the mirror, which is something that doesn't happen often. 

While looks aren't the most important thing, feeling good about yourself and comfortable in your own skin definitely is! I was able to do this with her thanks to the generous donations from various businesses in our community. WYN took part in the Back to School Fest this year, which provided school supplies and haircuts to children in Watauga County.

A BIG THANK YOU to all of those involved in the Back to School Festival, and thanks to Haircut 101 for making this experience so special for my mentee!

WYN Thanksgiving Feast at Golden Corral

The 2013 WYN Thanksgiving Feast was a great success and enjoyed by WYN staff, mentors and kids alike. The event was held at Boone's Golden Corral, which definitely didn't disappoint! Fried food, a chocolate fountain, Thanksgiving activities and full bellies - what more could you ask for?

Twenty two of our Mentoring matches attended, which was the largest Thanksgiving Feast we've ever had. It was a great opportunity for mentors and mentees to fellowship, stuff their faces, and make more wonderful memories together. A BIG THANKS to Golden Corral for hosting us, and thank you to all of the mentors for coming out!

Volunteer Needs

Administrative Support—answering phones, general office cleaning, support of staff as needed, assist with WYN events

Tutoring During ASU “off” times—volunteers are needed to tutor middle school students the following times:  last 2 weeks in August, middle of October (ASU Fall Break), first 2-3 weeks of December, March/April (ASU spring break), and the month of May

Mentoring—volunteers are needed to mentor a youth for 2 hours per week for 1 year.   Volunteers can become mentors at any point throughout the year.

Fundraising Committee/Event Planning—volunteers are needed to serve on committees to plan annual WYN fundraisers including Punkin Fest fall festival in October, The Grizzly bike ride in July, and a large annual fundraiser.  

Website and Facebook maintenance and updates—volunteers are needed to keep WYN’s website relevant and up-to-date, and also to make regular, interesting updates on the WYN Facebook page.  This volunteer can help with any social media-related updates to ensure that WYN stays relevant and visible in the social media world. 

Landscaping and building maintenance—volunteers are needed to keep flower beds weeded and to trim shrubs and small trees in the summer time.  We could also use help with building maintenance (be on call for making repairs and upgrades to facility when needed as well as ensuring that routine maintenance happens on a regular basis)

Interior Design—volunteers are needed to suggest building improvements in terms of decorations, paint, furniture, etc.  Donated supplies (furniture, paintings, paint, etc) are also needed and appreciated!

Other Supplies needed:  office paper, post-it notes, pens, pencils, paper towels, toilet paper, hand soap, bathroom cleaning supplies, HP 701 black ink cartridges for fax, staplers, paper clips, camping gear, healthy (individually wrapped) snacks, bikes, basketballs, gas cards, school supplies (graphing calculators, zip drives, notebooks, etc), working desktop computers and laptop computers.

For more information, please contact info@westernyouthnetwork.org or call (828) 264-5174.

Welcome Elizabeth DeSanto

Elizabeth DeSanto is WYN’s newest employee. Director of Development, Faith Motter, sat down with Elizabeth and asked a few questions.

Faith: What is your title at WYN?

Elizabeth: Mentor Program Assistant

Faith: What are some of the things that you will be doing as the Mentor Program Assistant?

Elizabeth: Doing whatever Angela [Director of Mentoring] tells me to do. But, more specifically, I will screen and train volunteer mentors. I will conduct home visits with mentees' families to make sure that they're clear on the program, and so that we can build relationships. I will do mentor match ups, provide ongoing support for mentors, and assist with recruiting volunteer mentors. I will also do general reporting and follow up.

Faith: What attracted you to this position?

Elizabeth: I’m graduating in December with a master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health counseling. I like WYN because of the focus on empowerment, prevention, and advocacy. I also have a heart for working with children and youth.

Faith: Where are you from?

Elizabeth: Louisville, Kentucky. The correct pronunciation is “Loughvul.”

Faith: What brought you to Boone?

Elizabeth: I came to Boone because of the Expressive Arts Therapy program at ASU. The program uses different modalities of art as therapeutic tools, such as painting, writing, music, and dance.

Faith: Anything else that you want people to know about you?

Elizabeth: I have two chickens.

 

WARNING

You NEVER want to get a call from ASU Police saying “We have a body”.  I DID, and it was the longest hour and 22 minutes drive I ever had IN MY LIFE coming to the Watauga Medical Center to identify my son.

The phone call that no parent ever wants to receive…

This goes out to you from my heart to yours.  I am the Mother of Tyler L. Blalock; my son died his sophomore year (Sept. 29, 2012) while attending ASU from underage drinking with a fake ID.

My son was 19 yrs old no different from yours – he came from great community roots with church, sports, family and friends he had since he was a baby.  All of the parents in our community held fast to the motto “it takes a village to raise a child,” and we watched out for one another.  If our kids needed to be “straightened out,” we welcomed each other to do so.  In many ways, this is much like the campaign, “It’s Up to Me,” which promotes the notion, “If You See Something, Say Something.” I am writing to ask you to go one step farther, and “DO SOMETHING” too.  Our young adults need to know THEY CAN HELP one another, and they need not be afraid to take action for fear that they might get a negative response.  Stepping up is the right thing to do.  IT COULD SAVE A LIFE.

Here is my story:
Tyler went to an apartment behind Hardees where they were drinking and partying.  He then left to go to Wal-Mart to buy a friend beer with his fake ID.  He returned to the party, and from there he walked to a bar (Klondike) just across the street from ASU campus with a group of people.  This group left him at the bar and when he left, he got no further than crossing the street to Kraut creek that runs through campus (not even the length of a football field).  This is where he allegedly he stopped to relieve himself and fell hitting a rock, knocking himself unconscious face down - cause of death “drowning”.  He was an award winning swimmer and a lifeguard for 2 yrs., yet he drowned in less than a foot of water.  It has been stated by several of the people he was with that he was heavily intoxicated (.26 blood/alcohol level to be exact).  So one question remains to haunt me to this day and for the rest of my life - Why didn’t someone DO SOMETHING, ANYTHING???  No charges were filed, nobody takes responsibility or expresses remorse for not helping another human being who was clearly in need of help, and all anyone can say is “I am so sorry for your loss”.

Parents, students, anybody who is reading this please talk to one another; seek education about the dangers of not only alcohol but cocaine, prescription drugs, marijuana, meth, and heroin.  The list goes on, but as you well know education gives you power to help make a difference.

My faith tells me, “All things are for our good,” and I have to live by that, so, I am on a mission much greater than me or Tyler.  I am taking the lead to help promote change, change in the Boone community, the ASU Campus and most importantly to tell ASU students that the time to ACT is now.

I have joined Watauga Substance Abuse Prevention (WSAP).  Angela Hagaman and Hollie Storie co-chair this group and they can be reached at 828-264-5174.  They would gladly welcome your participation on this multi-sectored community coalition.  At ASU, I am working with Kendal McDevitt, Wellness Promotion Coordinator, and she can be reached at 828-262-2060.  I also welcome anyone to call me directly if they have any questions or concerns at 704-906-1135.

I leave you with a final plea:  Please help me to honor my son and all the other young men and women who have died before they had a chance to make a difference in this world. “It is up to All of Us”.