As a complement to the junior counselor program, teens soon requested a “mentoring plus” program that would offer meaningful employment, life-skills training, leadership development, and college/career preparation during the school year, and so the term-time Leaders! program was established.

Today, summer Leaders! has grown from 40 to 100 teens, and term-time Leaders! from six to 25, all of whom receive one-on-one mentoring, including MCAS/SAT preparation and college/career advising; group mentoring built around a leadership development and social justice curriculum; and employer mentoring (35 hours/week summer and four hours/week term) performing community service in their own neighborhoods.

Since 2002 the summer Leaders, as part of their training, have organized and run PBHA’s Midsummer Celebration, a major citywide event that brings campers, parents, and staff from all 11 camps together with friends, community members, and civic leaders. Thanks to their efforts, the Midsummer Celebration has grown from 100 to 1,000 attendees and now includes a carnival, talent show, basketball tournament, Community Builder Award presentation, and a Community Action Project. In 2009, PBHA and the junior counselors received official recognition from the City of Boston when the City Council passed a resolution commending them for their consistent and dedicated service to the community. In fact, the City of Boston named July 29th “Phillips Brooks House Association Day” in honor of the ten-year anniversary of the Midsummer Celebration.

This summer, the Junior Counselors in the Community Action Project planning group were charged with finding how an event like the Midsummer Celebration, which brings so many people from all over Boston together, could be used to generate change within their community. They went through the process of problem identification, identifying several consistent problems in their communities: disparities within the school system (teachers, electives, and policing in schools), MBTA fare hikes, cuts to youth programs, jobs, and a lack of youth workers, and a lack of information about the Mayorial race.

The Junior Counselors then chose to use the Midsummer Celebration as an avenue to share their concerns with their community members and youth and to let their voice be heard. Due to some technical difficulties, the documentary was never shown at Midsummer, but it was shown at the Summer Urban Program Blowout Celebration, is now up on youtube, a copy has been given to the Harvard Institute of Politics, as requested, and officials from the City of Boston have asked to work with the CAP JCs on a consistent basis and hear their concerns about the budget. Leaders! presented a case for their concerns, and now you can see their documentary as well!

As a Senior Counselor with the Summer Urban Program, you have the chance to work with a group of 10 children, teaching and mentoring them as you explore the city together. All Senior Counselors receive free housing and a stipend of at least $3400.

Please come learn more at our info sessions this week and next:

Email sup@pbha.org with questions.

RYI, one of PBHA’s 12 SUP (Summer Urban Program) camps, is based in the Boston neighborhood of Roxbury, serving its predominantly African American and Latino community. With a staff of 8 Senior Counselors and 8 Junior Counselors, RYI serves 75 youth ages six to 13. Matthews, who is originally from “a lot of places – South Africa, Botswana, the UK, and Santa Fe” was a first-year student last year looking for something meaningful to do over the summer. He first heard about SUP from Omobolaji Ogunsola (Harvard ’10) and VaLonda Harris (Harvard ’09) who have worked with PBHA’s summer programs for two summers. After applying to the program, Matthews soon found himself at an intensive two-week training boot camp, meeting his campers’ parents, and planning academic enrichment curriculum.

RYI at PBHA's Midsummber Celebration

Matthews admits that teaching a classroom of seven campers was a challenging experience unlike any he’d ever had. Although training was not easy, he says that it was “more than sitting around – it was interactive and hands on – and I was thinking to myself, I get paid for this.” Also, figuring out the interests of his classroom of seven children was tough, but strong communication with parents and support from the more seasoned Senior Counselors in his program helped Matthews to build strong relationships with his students. “It was an extraordinary experience.”

Matthews found his time with RYI personally very meaningful. By working with SUP, Matthews felt that “this was a summer job where you actually had to stand for something, and that you would make a significant change, no matter how small it is.” He adds that “sometimes change is hard to see, but that fact that you’re trying, it gives a lot of hope; the fact that a lot of people come to teach children is uplifting.”

As an African and African American Studies concentrator, Matthews taught a unit on the slave trade in his SUP classroom. To Matthews’s surprise, most of the campers were unfamiliar with the topic but engaged with the topic and asked a lot of question. All except Maya, of course, until one camper asked specifically about the relations between Africans and African Americans. Maya jumped out and gave a personal account of her aunt and her involvement in with the Pan-African movement in the 1990s. Matthews was surprised by her enthusiasm. For the rest of the unit, Matthews borrowed a children’s book from the PBHA library about black history. From then on, Maya was captivated with the lessons and became a leader in the camp, even encouraging others to participate. At the end of the summer, Matthews had finally learned to “cultivate her leadership skills” and finally “saw Maya as the leader that he knew she was.”

Want to have a rewarding summer experience like Matthews did?

DO SUP!

As a Senior Counselor with SUP, you have the chance to work with a group of 10 children, teaching and mentoring them as you explore the city together. All Senior Counselors receive free housing and a stipend of at least $3400.

To learn more, come to the information sessions:

Wednesday, February 4th from 7-8pm at PBHA

Thursday, February 5th from 7-8pm at the IOP

Monday, February 9th from 7-8pm at PBHA

Email sup@pbha.org with questions.

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Provide for the needs of the children of Boston’s Chinatown
- Provide a safe, positive learning environment
- Strengthen academic skills, teach life skills, and foster personal growth
- Reawaken academic motivation and pride in achievement
- Promote cross-cultural awareness as well as self-identity and self-esteem
- Foster maturity and responsibility in teenage junior counselors

Provide for the needs of the children’s families
- Address parental concerns
- Provide opportunities for positive family interaction

Learn more on their website:CHAD.