Sunny weather set the stage for TVN’s annual Celebration Day events on Boys’ Village Campus. Over 400 staff, friends and supporters commemorated the Sanford “Stoney” Stonebraker greenhouse, participated in the youth art auction and enjoyed keynote speaker Bob Danzig, past senior corporate executive of The Hearst Newspaper Group and former foster child.

Mr. Danzig spoke about his experience as a former foster child. He was inspired to succeed by the people he met along the way including the social worker who told him, “You are worthwhile.”

Jim Miller, executive director, told the record crowd, “It has been difficult for all of us but we have prevailed. Not only has TVN managed to maintain its services, it has begun new initiatives as well. Even more importantly, we have remained true to our mission. Just today, we had 560 kids somewhere in our care making their lives better.”

Ceremonies took place at multiple TVN campuses in June and all of them had one common purpose – to celebrate Graduation Day - the academic highpoint for seniors. TVN’s graduation rate is more than double the national average for foster children. This year’s TVN graduates were participants in residential, day treatment and foster care programs and represented 10 of our network locations.

• On Boys’ Village Campus in Wooster, teachers, families and friends listened as Michael Tefs, superintendent of Wooster City Schools, spoke directly to the graduates. He talked of statistics.
• 1.2 million students who should have earned a high school degree, didn’t
• 30% (1 out of 3) students didn’t make it
• Non graduates earn $260,000 less in their life time
• A 1% increase in graduation rates would save $1.4 billion on law enforcement and prison costs

Tefs’ message to the TVN graduates was clear. “You are a statistic for a greater life,” he said.

 

Twenty-eight teams competed in the recent Buckeye Container-Village Network Golf Classic at the Wooster Country Club. The winning team took home the Basford Cup, a five-day, four-night trip on The Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail in Alabama and $1,000 in spending money.

Ken Kohlmyer, Ryan Wade, Ron White and Marty Gaudiose of the Kohlmyer & Associates team were the Grand Champion winners. Kohlmyer has played in the golf classic for many years and this is his first championship.

Buckeye Container has been the corporate sponsor for nearly all 28 years of the tournament. To date, over $1.7 million have been raised through the golf outing for the boys and girls under the care of TVN.

TVN volunteers were honored for their leadership, dedication and community ownership at the 34th annual Volunteer Luncheon. Executive Director Jim Miller called the gathering of women and men the “invisible group behind everything we do.” He praised them for supporting the mission and for their ownership in promoting responsible living and positive change in troubled children.

Mr. Miller also announced TVN will hire a full-time volunteer coordinator to maximize the strength of the group and expand the membership to all 11 network locations. The volunteer coordinator position was made possible through matching foundation grants from the Sisters of Charity of Canton, the Laura B. Frick Charitable Trust and the Burton D. Morgan Foundation.

A grant from The Community Foundation of Mount Vernon & Knox County will purchase a much needed van to transport our youth at TVN-Mount Vernon/Knox County. The Foundation also provided funds for new bedroom and common living area furniture for TVN’s residential facility, Children’s Resource Center on Coshocton Road in Mount Vernon.

“The Foundation is pleased to help create a living environment more conducive to the healing of at-risk children entrusted to the care of The Village Network,” said Sam Barone, executive director of the Foundation.