Are You Sharing ?

Too many of our kids are hopeless, which leads to troublesome activities. It appears as if 25-to-life does not seem to mean a thing. Our children were born for greatness, but often never bring that greatness to the world. I remember when I was employed in the music business. I had to give an interview at a local college television show for the segment on role models.
My group was there to discuss entertainers being role models. While waiting to be interviewed, I met a man who was being interviewed also. This man sold medical supplies for a living. Being silly, I could not understand why this man was so happy about selling medical supplies. As we talked, he really began to encourage me. He told me to strive for the best in whatever I did.

As we talked about my opportunity to have a record deal at such a young age, he stated that this was my gift to give to the world. He stated that I should be excited everyday and that I should share my gift as much as I could.

This gentleman really motivated me that day and filled me up with a new-found enthusiasm in myself. I often think of this man. I cannot remember his name, but I can see his face and that pin-striped suit he wore so vividly.

Now I ask you, what gift do you have that you can give to the world? What gift can you share with a young person that can make this world a better place? Will there be a young person remembering you fifteen years down the road? Are you sharing your gifts?

Jobless Rate hinders Youth

Recently I was forwarded an article by James T. Hammond, a SCBIZ Daily Staff member. His article was entitled Report: Jobless giving up search for work. I found his article very interesting especially when the article detailed 10 counties with the highest jobless rates for the month of September.

1. Allendale -17%
2. Marion -15%
3. Bamberg -13 .6%
4. Marlboro -12.9%
5. Barnwell -12.7%
6. Orangeburg -12.5%
7. Union -11.9%
8. Chester -11.8%
9. Fairfield -11.7%
10. Lancaster -11.7%

I could not believe the numbers. I immediately began to think of the youth in these counties. Allendale and Marion county especially. The lack of opportunity in these counties will leave our youth extremely vulnerable to criminal elements. The lack of initial training jobs will leave our state with an unskilled labor force. Although, you only have to look at your shrinking monthly budget to get a good sense of what our state is going through. I recommend you read the article above.

Understanding Customer Service

Many young people do not understand the critical link of serving the customer. Due to the limited opportunities to find work, many will never get that training. This leads me to the question of: How will our state compete in this new global economy? More than ever, businesses are finding that customer service is a business necessity. This includes call centers as well as brick and mortar locations competing for foot traffic. Currently we are seeing many traditional training grounds such as electronic stores, "mom and pop" stores, and fast food restaurants disappearing to our young population. Many of the jobs are being taken by adults whose companies have downsized, or closed shop altogether. If the current trend continues of young workers not being able to get the necessary training grounds they need, businesses in our state will not find employees who understand or value customer service.

Examples of the critical skills that will be missed are...

1. How to identify what customers want



2. How to interact with a customer to ensure customer loyalty



3. How to master difficult situations and handle customer complaints



4. How to truly listen to customers

Having these lessons taught in the training grounds will insure that our state will have young adults who can help propel our state forward down the line. When you open the door of your business or you help your organization initiate a youth worker program, you're doing more than just helping a young person. You are also being a catalyst to a successful, competitive South Carolina.

Finding Balance

Hello everyone,

I know it has been a long time since my last post. Over the past 3 weeks, I have taken time to reflect where this initiative is going. There is so much information out there and I have met many people who are trying to reach some of the same goals I am for the youth of our state. This discovery has led me to really sit down and visualize what I want to accomplish with Business Leaders Youth Alliance (BLYA).

After attending a middle school career fair on Thursday, I was able to develop the following:

BLYA 5 Pillars of Success

1. How to dress in a business environment
2. How to communicate in a business environment
3. Understanding Sales
4. Understanding Customer Service
5. A healthy self-image

I feel this initiative has to teach the youth we come into contact with these 5 Pillars in order to help them become a success in the future.

Sagging Pants

Many of our youth are lead to believe, or shall I say are brainwashed by marketers selling an image that they themselves do not believe in. The branding of saggin' pants.


I decided to address this because many of our youth today have no idea about the impression this style makes of their employment prospects. Just as hip-hop (who I am a die hard fan of - *just to make that clear) has a trend of sagging pants. The dress attire for business has its own style also. This is one of the areas our Youth Mentors can address.

Project Gang Out Fundraiser

The A Better Way Project GO " Gang out" fundraiser was a great opportunity for me to begin learning the non-profit world and how it operates. Dr. A.V. Strong told me "Brother Ismail-we will help and teach you. " I have included a few photos.

Dwayne Ismail and Dr. A.V. Strong- Director- Project GO (Gang Out)

Dwayne Ismail and Attorney General Henry McMaster

Judge Bill Byars, Director -Dept. of Juvenile Justice

Judge Bill Byars and Dwayne Ismail

Gift from the South Carolina Legislature presented to Dr. A.V. Strong by Representative John Scott, who just happened to be one of my first business mentors when I moved to South Carolina from Miami.

Rep. John Scott (right)

Master of Ceremony Jocelyn Maner REPORTER/ANCHOR

Mentor Night

I had a wonderful night Monday at the Dept. of Juvenile Justice, where I was able to mentor to a young man 18 years of age. I was amazed by his ability to think forward and have goals. However, I was upset by his ability to be talked out of his goals by his peers. This young man and I spent 1 hour talking and getting to know each other. I listened to his background and he listened to mine. It was amazing how we had similar backgrounds, yet be so opposite of each other. Let's just say hard times cross all racial boundaries.

This young man has the ability to bounce back and be a full fledged member of our society, however, he must bring out his leadership skills. We had so much fun together that our hour went by faster than we could imagine. I look forward to going back next week. I encourage everyone to think about giving of yourself and mentor at your local Dept. of Juvenile Justice.

Help Wanted

Many employers I speak with all tend to say the same thing, "good help is hard to find". There is no question that many of our young folks entering the work force are unprepared, but what is the solution? How do we find the perfect employees from the young job prospects of today? How do we find a young person who understands the value of customer service and teamwork?

This is a challenge many small and large organizations face. I will not pretend like I have the answer to this huge crisis, but I will suggest that organizations begin to develop these employees by creating a youth-worker division. If a small business or large company invests in a youth- worker, the youth-worker can be modeled to fit the needs of the organizations they serve, and the organization can begin building quality future employees.

Developing a youth-worker into what your company needs can be a lot easier than breaking someone out of old habits learned at other companies. In return, the valuable lessons learned at your organization can shape this young person for success. Therefore, the next time you want to say or hear someone say "good help is hard to find", think about, or offer them the suggestion of creating the good help.

WHY BLYA

Chryss S.


Ismail, I am glad that you have come up with something for our youth. Being a single mother, I am always seeking different avenues for my children to explore to aide them in being productive citizens/youth in our community. I am just so glad that this program will not only teach the youth jobs skills, but also teach them how to utilize what they have learned in everyday life. Ismail, you the man!!!! Thank you again for a program that will open many opportunities for our youth!!!!

Funding For Teachers- Available

The Columbia Opportunity Resource (COR) is a not-for-profit organization for young Columbia professionals. Thanks to a grant from the Knight Foundation, they have $15,000 to fund classroom resource and material requests from Richland teachers. As a Richland teacher, if you want to take advantage of this funding opportunity – which can help you get over $1000 in resources and materials for your classroom, please do the following ...

1. Visit www.DonorsChoose.org and click the ‘For Teachers’ tab

2. Click the “Submit your project today” tab

3. Select “I am a public school teacher”

4. Follow the prompts to register and submit your requests. You can submit up to THREE requests for less than $350 in resources.

Registering and submitting takes very little time – and all your shopping is done online through the site. To take advantage of COR funding, submit your requests by October 28, 2008.