On God's Front Portch

Written by: Chelsea M. Stallings, BSW student at IUPUI

Life is too short and we need to enjoy the small things, like being in the woods. I have been spending a lot of my time in the woods and it has been teaching me how to be a true hunter. I am very new at this, but I have been waiting my whole life to learn this trade. I am so passionate about hunting that I find myself always looking for deer when I drive pass a cornfield and scanning the sky for birds. Being a female participating in this male dominated sport, gives me more of a drive to become a great hunter. Someone wise once told me, “patience is key, sometimes you just need to sit back and watch the woods come alive”. 

Just recently I have been blessed with a few people who have taken me under their wings. These people have spent a lot of time with me and I can’t explain how thankful I am. From spending quality time in the duck blind, shooting arrows in the backyard, and sitting patiently in a tree stand, have been some of my greatest memories. My hunting buddies have made all of these memories special and I can’t thank them enough for letting a girl join in on their secrets.  

January 13, 2013 one of our hunting buddies was taken from us. Justin Kroh was a good guy who I got to know through spending time in the woods. He was a beginner like me so I could connect with him on that level. Justin was there every weekend ready to corner him a monster. He didn’t talk much, but his actions were powerful. One of his best friends decided to name one of the stands, Kroh Corner. It is going to be tough going back to the woods without him, but that place is where we all can feel him in some way.

Hunting is not only the most exciting sport in the world; it brings family and friends together. I have learned that even on a day when you don’t see a thing you are still spending time with awesome people who have the same interest as you. Also, I have discovered “woods therapy” and how it really helps me. When you are sitting anxiously in a stand, you get plenty of time to think. Sometimes I think about homework assignments I need to complete, how much my grandparents make me laugh, or how blessed I am. Even if you don’t enjoy hunting as much as I do, you should set time aside to just enjoy nature and the beauty of the world. And don’t forget to tell the ones you love how much you appreciate them.

Importance of Youth Mentoring

By: Public Relations Intern at MCCOY- Ivy McConnell



I want to start the year off by expressing the importance of youth mentoring. As I think about my life and the direction I decide to take with education, extra curricular activities, and my career choice, I realized that I am the woman I am today because I had a great mentors when I was younger.

I attend Pike High School a little over ten years ago. I remember my college mentors and my Fashion Design Teacher. My college mentors made a vast impact in my life as a teenager by introducing me to the option to go to college and took me to universities for campus visits so I could choose a major and create connects before I attend. While I'm visiting, doing research on majors and figuring out my purpose in life. I was taking a few fashion design classes under the teaching of Mrs. Sutton. I decided to take her classes because I love fashion and wanted to create my own clothes instead of purchasing another persons idea. After a year, she entered me into fashion shows and contests around the city so I can show off my original designs. One day, after school she sat me down and told me that I should make my hobby into a career in fashion. I'm thinking I can't make a living off of designing and constructing clothes. She really believed in me and my talent to help others. Therefore, I went to my college mentors and they help me choose Ball State University.

Ball State have one of the largest fashion programs in the country! I pursed my BS in Apparel Design and Fashion Merchandising with a minor in Marketing. WOW! I double majored and came out as a Store Manager and Stylist of my own store. Little did I know that Mrs. Sutton was mentoring me for two years. She mold and guide me to follow my dreams and make a career out my passion. Not to mention, my college mentors were the reason why I was very involved on campus taking on leadership roles while being a active citizen in my community.

I strongly encourage you to sign up at mentoring organization or program here in Indianapolis. Organizations like Trusted Mentors , Indiana Youth Institute The Alliance of Youth Mentoring Agencies of Central  Indiana and 100 Black Men Indianapolis, are a great start to get involve. Not to mention, you may be mentoring a young person right now and don't recognize it. Get involve in 2013 with youth mentoring. You will change yours and their life forever!

A Pioneer in Youth Advocacy: Jane Addams

Jane Addams, Nobel Peace Prize winner and widely accepted to be the founder of social work in the United States, was also one of the most influential advocates for children in our nation’s history.

Cate, a 3rd-grader, tells us the story of Jane Addams and the Hull House:

Addams is best known for founding the Hull House in Chicago in 1889, which provided a variety of support and services to the local marginalized immigrant population.  She lived and worked there until her death in 1935.

While the Hull House served everyone in the neighborhood, many of the efforts were quite specific to children.  The Hull House provided day care and kindergarten services for working parents.  However, this was no ordinary childcare environment.  The children of Hull House had access to art, a library, and plenty of freedom to exercise and just play - very unusual luxuries for most children born into these poor and struggling immigrant families.  In fact, children during this time were often expected to work long hours in deplorable conditions alongside their parents.

The pervasiveness of child labor was deeply upsetting to Addams.  She was a very active in lobbying for policy that would end child labor, which was finally enacted on the federal level in 1916.  Additionally, she helped to create the first juvenile court.  She was vice-president of the Campfire Girls, and a member of the executive boards of the National Playground Association and the National Child Labor Committee.

Today, thanks to the trailblazers of the past, there are countless ways to serve and advocate for young people in our community.  From mentoring, to supporting legislation that would lead to positive youth outcomes, to donating time and money to youth advocacy organizations, we all have the power to be champions for our youth.  

What will you do?

Revenge Written by: Hollyn Meador

Revenge.  Some would say it is a necessary justification to injustice.  Others might say it has no place in the world.  By what means is revenge justifiable?  How far is one “allowed” to go, while maintaining a moral compass?  Can revenge exist for some circumstances and not others? 

These are questions that the ABC television serious Revenge poses.  The themes of justice, forgiveness, morality, love, deceit, and power are intertwined within plots, subplots, and more underlying subplots.  Emily VanCamp plays Emily Thorne/Amanda Clarke, the main character.  Born as Amanda Clarke, Emily Thorne returns to the Hamptons as a charitable socialite plotting her father’s vengeance on a wrongful conviction framed by the wealthy Grayson family.  Her father, David Clarke, was sent to federal prison on account of terrorism responsible for downing one of the planes in the 9/11 attacks.

I have been watching this television series for a few weeks now and I am totally enthralled.  My favorite kinds of movies and shows are the ones that keep unveiling layers and layers of connections and new storylines.  The element of surprise can be somewhat addicting.  Not only do I enjoy the entertainment piece, but also I enjoy how the show helps me reflect upon life.  It represents deeper issues of society.  Issues of self-preservation and how far people are willing to go and compromise themselves for the sake of protecting their pride.  It makes me wonder what kind of high society crime does not get exposed on the news.  It also makes me wonder how this kind of show may influence or effect our teen population in regards to bullying.  The show may perpetuate behaviors like bullying or perpetuate revenge back on a bully from the victim. 

The irony with revenge is that in retaliating back from a wrongdoing against us, we commit the same wrongdoing, however, it may feel more justified.  But just because it feels more justified, does that make it right?  This may be the underlying deceit in the idea that revenge is truly fulfilling and satisfying, when in reality, it may not be.  The power to forgive the person who wronged us may be far more rewarding than taking the same action one experienced from that bully back onto him or her.

In the show (as in life), it is easy to judge each character, the choices they make and the sins of their past and present.  Then I wonder, “What if I was in their position?” “What if I was experiencing this high degree of righteous anger, so much so to move me to doing something?”  “What would I do?”  As I watch the plots unfold, I find myself tearing up at the heartbreak and the struggle of being a product of someone else’s consequences.   Life-changing consequences.

What I am learning from the television show, Revenge, is that sometimes life struggles consist of mostly gray areas.  The gray areas move us into a place of self-analysis and self-reflection.  A place to decide whom we want to be based on the choices of our actions, particularly when faced with hurt and disappointment.  To whom will we look for guidance?  How will we know we have made the right decision?

On more celebration before the month ends

Written by: Stephanie Freeman, MCCOY Communications Director

January is a month of many important celebrations: celebrations that bring us together as a community and inspire us to do better. This month we are called to create awareness of the importance of mentoring and the benefits it has on the mentee as well as the mentor.

A mentor is defined as a wise and trusted counselor or teacher or an influential supporter. A mentor can come in many forms – an older sibling, coach, co-worker, professor, etc. Mentors can be formal – assigned relationships, weekly meetings, and goals, or informal – with infrequent emails, texts and introductions to others. However the mentor-mentee relationship is established it is bound to be a learning experience.

I have been fortune to have mentors both personally and professionally that have helped me to get to where I am today. Personally, I have had friends and family that have turned into informal mentors, whom have taught me through their life-experiences how I want to lead my life. Professionally, I have had mentors assigned at work as well as informal mentors that I respect and admire their career courses. I have learned from each one of my mentors and they have helped to form the person I am today.

In my life, I have tried to help those younger than I am or those in need of support and advices. However,  I have not yet ventured into a formal relationships where I was the mentor. That is something that I would like to do.

According to the Indiana Mentoring Partnerships, “The most important resource you have is time. And, quality time with a caring adults can make a lasting difference in a child’s life. When you become a mentor, you will help a child or a teenager get the support and encouragement that they need to succeed in life. By mentoring a young person just one hour each week, you can:

• Improve academic and study skills
• Help a child discover new talents and ambitions
• Provide moral support and confidence
• Change a child’s life for the better

I encourage all of you to sign-up to be a mentor. In Indianapolis, there are more than 100 organizations that offer mentoring opportunities to young people in our community.

Visit: http://www.mccoyouth.org/Library/the-alliance-of-youth-mentoring-agencies-of-central-indiana.html for a list of these organizations.  Wherever you decide to spend your time, please know that you will be making a difference in the life of another.