Past District Governor Tony Williams of our club recognized two community leaders as Paul Harris Fellows at our June 13 club meeting. Dr. Ikenna Martin (left side in image below) is the Director of Youth Services and Dr. Faraji Martin (right side on image below) is the Manager of the Youth Services Program for Land of Lincoln Goodwill Industries, Inc. in Springfield. The two brothers have long careers working in the nonprofit sector, primarily working with youth and helping them transition into adulthood.
Tony summarized their strong academic backgrounds in human services. Both have multiple masters degrees from midwestern universities and Ph.D.s in Human Services with specializations in Criminal Justice from Walden University in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They are both members of the Golden Key International Honor Society and National Organization of human services. In 2014, Ikenna was awarded the Heart of Gold Award for his work with mentoring underserved youth in the Springfield, IL community. He was awarded the 2016 Employee of the Year Award at the Land of Lincoln Goodwill Industries. In 2012, Faraji was awarded the Community Services Volunteer of the Year Award from the American Red Cross, Illinois Capital Area Chapter. In 2013, he was awarded the Leadership Award at the Land of Lincoln Goodwill Industries, and in 2014 he was awarded the Heart of Gold Award for his mentoring of underserved youth in the Springfield. They both share a love of volunteering and coaching basketball in their spare time. Tony, Harry Mitchell, and Barry Tobias presented them with the Paul Harris Fellow pins, certificates, and medallions (image above and lead image for Newsletter).
Following the formal presentation, the two brothers teamed up to present an inspirational program on the holistic Youth Services Program that they developed and lead for the Land of Lincoln Goodwill Industries in Springfield (image above). The programs include the Student-Athlete Program, which engages students in basketball as well as scholarship, leadership, community service, tutoring and role modeling, and finding future careers. Service Learning Activities engage students in the program in donation events, feeding the homeless, and back-to school events. The Summer Youth Employment program helps the students learn how to fill out job applications, participate in interviews including mock interviews, and offers opportunities to work in the Good Will stores. The Career and Life Navigation Program provides college and career readiness, ACT and SAT preparation, participation in college fairs and school visits, and helps students develop social skills. The Mentoring Program provides students with mentoring opportunities through Teen Reach, GoodGuides, and the Americorps Program.
Their dedication to changing lives and their passionate overview of the excellent programs they lead included numerous examples of student success and promoted a lively discussion with club members. Barry presented the two with Rotary mugs and coins and invited them to come back anytime and consider joining Rotary. They clearly embody the Rotary mantra of Service Above Self and are well deserving of the Paul Harris Fellow recognition.
