Your Voices

Each month, I receive many e-mails from my viewers, supporters, and friends.  Here are some of your voices:

Ninon how are you doing!!

This is Chantelle you met my sister and I through Phil. Congratulations!! On everything! I just wanted to let you know that I appreciate your kindness and that my sister and I plan on taking you up on your offer to mentor us. We are hungry for more wisdom. You are a woman who we can learn a lot from. We will be calling you very soon!!! Until then....!!

Chantelle & Crystal Schenck!


Hi Ninon,
How are you congratulations again on the award. It is beautiful and very powerful when you can see your impact. This award shows that you are impacting the younger generation in a positive way!

I just wanted to update you on what is going on with my sister and me. First let me say that dinner was great and we enjoyed your company. I thank you for being so blunt and honest about life, and money and all that we talked about. The conversation was very sobering and it was exactly what we needed to hear. It set us up and now there has been a definite shifting in our mentalities. We are more focused and we have gained some momentum. God is so good he loves us very much to have brought you into our lives. And he must love you a great deal to bring us into your life!!(I’m smiling!)

We just got back into town from a business trip in Santa Barbra. It was great! We made some very good contacts in the music industry. A lot of them are here in LA. We met gentlemen that does music placement for film and TV as well as video games and more.
He needs material from us and will get our music placed which will create some income for us. We have also made a business plan and set up some goals for ourselves. We've done it before but we are planning for success. We need to get into a music studio so that we can begin to pitch songs to Artist.
Our goal is to get linked up with some heavy hitting publishers so that our songs can be pitched and placed and ultimately to have # 1 singles on the billboard charts.

I will call you soon
I know it’s long but I just wanted to give you an update, We Love You and will talk to you soon!!!

Love,
Crystal and Chantelle

Hi Ninon!

Just recollecting the great time we spent producing the Voices of Tomorrow, TV Talk Show, and February 16, 2006. The experience was invaluable for all five of us that attended the filming. Our three students, Taviona Pickett, Dominique Williams and Carshanae Willis have received taped copies of the show and have expressed their gratitude. While in the green room, myself and Merilyn Thompson (Carson Teacher) concurred that your program is a valuable tool in the hands of our youths, enabling their sentiments to be exchanged across ethnic and cultural lines. You are helping to bridge the communication/understanding gap which is desperately needed. Additionally, touching our kids lives and fostering a since of self worth creates the confidence our youths need to be successful in life. We need more programs that so significantly impact our youth’s lives. Keep up the good work.

I also want to thank Wilda Keir for making this experience possible.

With great enthusiasm we anticipate our next broadcast.
Thanks Again.

Sincerely,
Antoinette Tarkington
Parent Center Director J-19

cc: Ken Keener-Principal
Jack Richardson-Vice Principal
Rosie Martinez-Vice Principal
Wilda Keir- Director-School Volunteer Program Merilyn Thompson

Voices of Tomorrow,
Ninon, I am so thankful to have been on your show, and I really appreciate your energy. I look forward to meeting with you next week to discuss some ideas I have for the direction I wish to go with all of this. Thank you for sharing your gifts so freely with the world, Peace and Gratitude, Jason. PS: I hope you end up reading the rest of the book too....!!!

Justin Hughs.

My Dear Ninon,

What a nice surprise to hear from you. Thank you so much for your lovely card. You truly warm my heart.

I have always admired and loved you. You are such a wonderful lady and I know Uncle Fred looks upon us with joy in his heart knowing that you are in our lives.

I went to St. Thomas VI, and I couldn’t help but think of you. I don’t even know where it was you and Uncle Fred went when you were filming a movie or modeling or something? I always have the fondest memories of you.

My love to you always,

Monique

Voices of Tomorrow
I know you'll appreciate Theo’s story of hope and survival.

When Theo was ten years old, he watched police officers drive his mother away after she attacked his father with a knife. In the months after, questions about where she went or if she was coming back angered his father who had sunk into a deep depression. When Theo woke from nightmares and cried out for his mom, his father would hit him, telling him to "be a man," threatening to beat him until Theo stopped crying. But the sadness consumed Theo and he began cutting himself as a way to cope. In the moment, the blood that flowed from a self-inflicted gash released his urge to cry and proved that he could be tough. Spending nights on the streets was also a way to prove his maturity. His father never seemed to care when he left and eventually, Theo never went home again.

Recognizing the self-abuse, My Friend's Place staff patiently built rapport with Theo, offering invitations to stress reduction activities. During Theo's first group, he listened as the group leader validated the motives for coping with trauma, but explained the risks of strategies such as cutting. Theo received a journal that day and met with the group again the next week where he eagerly shared his own story. As Theo poured himself into writing, his physical wounds were not the only ones to heal. He learned that it is ok to feel and ok to cry. He changed his perspective on street life, deciding that asking his grandmother for a place to stay was a healthier way to show his maturity and wisdom. Today, Theo is still engaged in therapy to help build his self-esteem but his hope for the future is stronger than ever.

On behalf of the 100 youth who will enter our doors today, thank you for everything you do for My Friend's Place.

David

David Brinkman
Executive Director
My Friend's Place

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Vanessa Van Petten, a 22 year old business owner and author wrote a book for parents and teenagers when she was in High School called “You’re Grounded!”  Her missions is to help parents and teenagers communicate and find safe activities for teenagers.  Her website, www.rrules.com is the first editable parenting guide and teen handbook so moth parents and teenagers finally have a neutral place to communicate! Visit her blog:  www.VanessaVanPetten.com See the website: www.rrules.com