Your Time 4 Talk
Spotlight On Devon Harris
by Madona Cole-Lacy on 06/24/13
Congratulations to Devon Harris, motivational speaker,
author and founder of the Keep On Pushing Foundation, on being honored for his
community service by New York’s Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano at the
Caribbean American Festival on Saturday, June 15, 2013.
Mr. Harris also of Jamaican Bobsled fame, has for the
past two years been an avid supporter of Long Island’s non-profit, Your Time
For Creative Empowerment, Inc. and the My Time Has Come Program. These long island based programs have been
served well by Mr. Harris' captivating and spirited motivational presentations
to parents and youth.
Also honored were:
Mr. Ron Clahar -
Principal of Pat -Kam School and Early Childhood Center
Ms. Lorna Lewis -
Superintendent of the Plainview Old Bethpage CSD & Adjunct Professor at
Hofstra University
Mr. Lennox O.
Price - Consul General of Barbados to New York.
We congratulate
all of these honorees for the exemplary work they are doing in their respective
fields.
Your Time For Creative Empowerment, Inc. engages in
activities designed to empower youth &
families by providing tools for handling the challenges and pitfalls of life
in the 21st Century; through the use of the arts, fashion and culture
alongside creative personal development and behavioral modalities.
My Time Has Come Program is an art-related cultural and
social enrichment enterprise which offers workshops to teachers, students and
community organizations. My Time Has Come Program promotes tolerance to racial,
cultural, ethnic and generational differences; fosters a sense of belonging,
accomplishment and pride gained from the creation of well executed culturally
inspired works of art; and develops skills in the use of hand-crafted textile
designs and contemporary, and multi-cultural visual arts techniques.
Author: Madona
Cole-Lacy, MA Ed.
Founder: Your Time
For Creative Empowerment, Inc.
Program Director/
Facilitator: My Time Has Come Program
Kudos to Long Island inductees into the National Achievers Society
by Madona Cole-Lacy on 06/22/13
Some of the Brightest and Best students from a total of 15 long Island area schools, were inducted into the National Achievers Society at the Huntington Hilton on Saturday, June 8, 2013. Thanks to the Urban League of Long Island Young Professionals for spearheading this annual event and giving Long Islanders the opportunity to sponsor hard-working students from grades 3 through 12 for induction into the National Achievers Society. Congratulations to all inductees, their parent, guardians and teachers!
With so many unsung achievers in communities throughout the country, it is incumbent on local and national organizations, as well as individuals, to take full advantage of this and similar opportunities to formally acknowledge and celebrate the achievement of our youth by sponsoring them for induction.
A special acknowledgement goes to the following inductees who participated in the 3rd Annual Self-Empowering Workshop for College Bound 9-12th Grade Students and their Parents, hosted by Your Time For Creative Empowerment, Inc. in April 2013.
In Praise Of The Collective Dots of Kind-Heartedness
by Madona Cole-Lacy on 06/11/13
Our free self-empowering workshop series for high school students and their parents went without a hitch due to the collaborative spirit and work behind the scenes of some, in an attempt to get others to experience the excitement of our brand of college survival and high school success prep.
We thank our sponsors, volunteers and Resource Persons for believing in us. It was the recruitment process that turned out to be the ultimate eye-opener with lots of extra mural education for the fabric of our lives. Caring people helped us reach out to the audience for whom our carefully packaged gifts had been prepared. Please read on for snippets on the nature of the support we received.
Some placed our flyer on their websites while others worked at forwarding our emails to people on their contact list. We are grateful for the invitation to an advisory board meeting and a school college fair.
Announcements were made in churches and one pastor made attempts at a collaborative effort by referring us to his youth ministry, a clear indication that he practices what he preaches. We celebrate his supportive spirit and pray that his congregants will forever be "infected" by his spirit of collaboration and kindness.
Our flyers were welcomed at libraries, and information shared on websites including one art organization’s website whose director was interested enough to oblige valuable pointers.
We witnessed leadership at play, when a school superintendent made time to meet with us for a meaningful conversation. What a blessing this leader is to his administrative staff and students!
We are grateful for the graciousness and benevolence of Molly College, for providing workshop space for three years in a row.
When it became necessary to do a second day of programming, an 'angel volunteer' picked up the tab - leaving us speechless.
Some sponsors provided nourishment and quenched the thirst of our participants. One provided breakfast and lunch two years in a row, in addition to snacks and space for our meetings. The other provided lunch on two occasions. Our beverage needs were taken care of by another sponsor for the past two years.
What would our goodie bags have looked like without the variety of meaningful items donated by four of our sponsors? A discounted shopping event accompanied by coupons from a sponsor of three years is in the mix.
Some took journal ads and made financial contributions. The media outlets made public service announcements. Promotional materials would have been prohibitive at full cost, without the benevolence of our promotional materials sponsor.
We are grateful as we humbly acknowledge the specialness of our supporters. We are happy to tell the whole wide world about this category of exemplary people whose contributions, kindness and selflessness are the dots that make us declare with confidence, that we are well on our way. Meet the rest of the family
A truly enlightening and empowering experience as we shared the joys of those who were able to deliver, and the disappointments of others who tried to deliver, but were unsuccessful in doing so this time!
Please share with us the praises of the connective dots of kind-heartedness in your life.
A Creative Take! - Author: Florence Bell
by Madona Cole-Lacy on 04/23/13
Saturday's event echoed my words, "Come dance with me and I will make you Fishers of Men."
I saw them wonder.
I saw their flicker of anticipation.
I saw their shadows fade.
Their opened minds,
Exercising,
Freedom of speech.
I saw them - comfortable within themselves,
Relaxed in their huddles.
They spoke of the "who" they could become.
They focused on self, their awakening.
And wowed themselves by discovering
That yes, there were gifts sealed within.
Yes, they could ignite the spark,
Yes, they could take flight,
Yes, they could become...................
EMPOWERED!
F. Bell (4/22/13)
College-Bound 9th and 10th Grade Students Need Empowerment Too!
by Madona Cole-Lacy on 04/04/13
We have tailored our college-bound initiative to accommodate 9th and 10th grade students, as well as high school juniors and seniors.
Registration is now open to 9th through 12th grade students, their parents, teachers and guardians
Call (516) 783-9178
Our nonprofit is able to offer this program at no cost to the participants as a result of the benevolence of individuals, local businesses and corporations. Thank you so much for your involvement.
2013 College-Bound Workshop Series Sponsors (Partial List)
Adelphi University
Panera Bread
Molloy College
Ms. Florence Bell
Bed Bath Beyond
Subway Restaurant
Staples
Clarke Multimedia, Inc.
CTown, Uniondale
Madona Cole Originals
My Time Has Come Program
Verizon Wireless-Preferred Wireless
TD Bank, Wantagh
Citibank, Wantagh
Empowerment: Your Role - Our Role
by Madona Cole-Lacy on 03/28/13
Those who are lifting the world upward and onward are those who encourage more than criticize."
- Elizabeth Harrison
If you are reading this post, I have no doubt that you are one with a "lifting the world upward and onward" mindset.
Perhaps you are effective at reaching out to the core group who will benefit from this event.
You might even possess exceptional persuasive skills you could put in action to convince a child or grandchild of the benefits they will reap by participating in our FREE student-led and caring experts-guided, Self-Empowering Workshop.
You might know or be the parent of a scholarly high school or college student whose involvement will be priceless to their peers.
You might have some innovative thoughts that are geared towards addressing the needs of the student population in your community that we invite you to share with us.
You might be one or have a direct line of communication with the "movers and shakers" of Long Island and beyond.
It is your time to join Your Time For Creative Empowerment, Inc., and play a role in the crucial Social Aspect of College Prep.
We are looking forward to hearing from you.
Spotlight: An Acknowledgment of our volunteers, resource persons and supporters
by Madona Cole-Lacy on 03/15/13
It is only fair that the first SPOTLIGHT be shined on a group of people who, because of their desire to make a difference in the lives of our youth and families on Long Island, navigated their very busy schedules to attend the first Your Time For Creative Empowerment, Inc. orientation and planning meeting on January 23, 2013.
We have had five face-to-face meetings and a couple of teleconference meetings since then, to make plans for our upcoming events. Thank you for recognizing and demonstrating your importance in this resolve to work collaboratively, towards addressing some of the burning social and personal development issues we face today.
Our prospective Board Members have been busy too, working behind the scenes. We thank them.
A big thank you goes to Panera Bread for providing culinary delights and a meeting room for us.
Thank you also goes to the East Meadow Public Library for making their conference room available to us for one of our meetings.
...And Staples of Westbury,
as always, you are simply the BEST!
