By Steve Powell
Herald Writer
Dick Doughty is upset about the exploitation of children in America.
More money is spent on advertising to them than educating them, he said.
He wants Snohomish County to step up and help educate minority students through a new YMCA program.
The president of Henry Cogswell College in Everett spoke to a few hundred people Friday at a luncheon for the Minority Achievers Program at the Monte Cristo Ballroom in Everett.
The goal of the program is to help the increasing number of young minorities in Snohomish County get an education and find jobs. The latest census shows that the number of minority residents has grown from 8 percent to 17 percent of the county population in the past 10 years.
And the minority students need help, said Brent Stewart, president of the county YMCA. Many come from broken homes or from low-income families, even though both parents work.
Doughty said the country has come together the past two weeks in fighting terrorism. He said the same kind of effort should be put into helping children.
But he’s getting impatient.
"I’ve seen too many years go by with too few things changing," he said to applause.
Doughty said many young minorities ages 16 to 24 have given up on even trying to find jobs. The county needs to break that nowhere cycle, he said.
"It’s not a level playing field," he said.
J.J. Frank, director of the Minority Achievers Program, knows about playing fields. He was on the University of Washington’s national championship football team in 1991. He wants to level out the field by finding mentors who will work with minority kids.
"We need to roll up our sleeves and help kids with their homework," he said.
The students need ongoing relationships with caring adults, Stewart added.
By helping kids with Scholastic Aptitude Test studies in middle school and high school, and by connecting them to local colleges, they are more likely to succeed, Frank said.
Other ways to help the Minority Achievers Program include cash or in-kind donations, or providing internships, job shadowing or tours of businesses.
To help, call Frank at the Marysville YMCA, 360-653-9622.
"We need to provide alternatives to destructive behavior," Frank said, thanking Boeing, Verizon and Providence Everett Medical Center in particular for financial support.
The group also will provide college scholarships to minority students. It gave out $500 each to local students Sonia Avila, James Taylor and Nicole Andes on Friday.
State Rep. John Lovick had some advice for those helped by the program: "Do everything you can to help the community. Be a giver."
Keith Hall, vice chairman of the program, summed up the effort. After the terrorist attacks, he said: "Our youth need us more than ever. Who will help if we don’t?"
You can call Herald Writer Steve Powell at 425-339-3455
or send e-mail to powell@heraldnet.com.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
