BETHEL, Ohio — A program based in southeast Ohio is helping kids to dream big — and to get a good night’s sleep.
Employees and volunteers for the nonprofit Empower Youth, based in Bethel, visit kindergartens in Clermont, Brown and Highland counties. They give out books and pillows, as well as a big helping of encouragement.
What You Need To Know
- Empower Youth visits kindergartens in Clermont, Brown and Highland counties
- Each student gets a “Dream Big” book and new pillow and tie-dyed pillowcase
- The program inspires about 800 students each year
- Empower Youth is currently looking for a sponsor to help pay for the program’s $7,000 budget
“We’re encouraging even the youngest of students to start to think about their future — to think about the possibilities and what they have inside of them that can change the world potentially,” said Empower Youth’s Amy Smith. She wrote the children’s book, “Dream Big With Lori,” which encourages kids to reach for the stars.
Smith brings along her son, Will, who dresses as Mr. Sunshine, in a costume his mom made for the school visits.
After reading the book, Smith goes around the room asking kids what they dream about becoming when they’re adults. The answers have changed since they started the program seven years ago.
“It was kinda cute and funny in the beginning when they wanted to be a fairy or a unicorn,” Conley said. “Now, we’re starting to get kids in kindergarten wanting to be an engineer. It’s cool to see how this has evolved and the kids are starting to catch that dream.”
Conley and Smith pass out copies of her book and pillows to each kindergarten student they visit. The pillow part came out of a need they saw during visits to students’ homes.
“We really started going house to house and visiting some of the students and started noticing they might not have a bed or might not have a pillow,” Conley said. The pillows come with a special tie-dyed pillowcase decorated by volunteers. This year, members of Bridgeway Baptist Church in Amelia’s Ladies Group tie-dyed about 800 pillowcases.
Special needs students from Live Oaks Career Center help to bag up the pillows and deliver them to the schools.
“It means so much to have so many great volunteers supporting this project,” Conley said.
He is currently looking for a business or civic group to sponsor the project, which costs about $7,000 a year.
“We’re fulfilling a basic need for some kids and giving every kid a memorable experience and the encouragement to dream big,” Conley said.
“The kids come from all different backgrounds,” Smith said. “Some of them have plenty, some of them not enough. Some of them have encouraging words. Some of them don’t. No matter where they come from or what they are experiencing right now in life, they have a chance to have a bright future and that’s what we want to encourage and nourish along the way.”
It’s a message that’s making a big impression, according to Charlee, a kindergarten student at William Bick Primary School in Bethel.
“You can be anything you want to be,” Charlee said.
