Today's meeting was off-site at the CPY Spring Luncheon.  Most NBMV Rotarians are very familiar with CPY but, for those who are not, their website offers the following description:
 
In 1997, community leaders and parents established Community Partners with Youth (CPY) with the goal of reducing juvenile crime by increasing adult supervision during “out of school” hours – those hours after school, during student holidays and over the summer months.  Over time, our goals grew until we laid out our current mission:
To provide a safe, nurturing environment where youth can strengthen their personalities and develop educational and social skills.
Today, we have become one of the state’s most respected providers to offer supervision during out of school hours to elementary and middle school youth.  Each year we care for more than 500 children, offering thousands of hours of programming for youth and their families. CPY is committed to creating an environment that fosters each child’s development.  Parents can have peace of mind, too, knowing our talented and committed staff are ensuring each child has access to programs designed to meet their needs.  All children attending our programs are nurtured and challenged, with an emphasis on leadership, excellence, honesty, respect, service & kindness; all are encouraged and practiced each day.
 
 
Rotarian and CPY board member Geoff Hollimon said that more than 150 had registered for the Luncheon and I was proud to see how many NBMV Rotarians were present (see below) to support the great work that CPY does in our community. 
 
Rotarian and CPY Executive Director Mary Stewart quizzed us on CPY statistics and some highlights were:
CPY serves over 500 K-8 graders, at 3 locations.
Over 85% of CPY's students are on the free or reduced lunch program at school.
Over 24,000 meals and snacks are served to students each year.
90% of CPY students receive scholarships to attend programs.
CPY manages all this with just 2 full-time and 10-18 part-time staff.
Click here for more information about CPY.
 
The keynote speaker was John Turnipseed (above), a former gang leader and drug dealer who overcame the effects of an absent alcoholic father, unloving mother, and multiple prison stays to become the leader of the Center for Fathering at Urban Ventures Leadership Foundation for more than 15 years and to become Vice President of Urban Ventures in 2004. John's story is a dramatic one, his lack of love and support at home drove him into the gang life, where he felt loved and appreciated.  The gang lifestyle led to jail experiences at age 12 for armed robbery and age 14 for manslaughter.  The downward spiral continued until age 40, when a very persistent mentor finally got John to consider his wasted life.  John let God into his life and finally developed the conscience that had been completely lacking in his earlier life.  Since then he has been a tireless advocate for changing the "urban cycles of recidivism, poverty and patterns of choice by modeling how to rebuild relationships and create pathways to success".   Click here for more information about Urban Ventures.