Excelsior Partners with Smoky Hill Public Library for Unique Book Club

"I have never had a motive to read for a book report. I would just take the 'F'. But you have made reading fun, in a way I never thought it would be," says Heather, a participant in the Summit Cottage Excelsior Youth Center Book Club.

In August of 2005, Excelsior's Summit Cottage and Smoky Hill Public Library joined to create a unique book club to provide the girls with the opportunity to discuss books with poignant themes of overcoming abuse, family struggles, and negative self-images. "One staff takes approximately four girls every other Tuesday night out to the library," explained Marty Zaffaroni, Treatment and Team Coordinator for Summit Cottage. "Julie Tufo (one of the librarians at Smoky Hill Library) gives them relevant teen books to read and then they discuss them at the library. She has really been helpful and seems to enjoy doing it with the girls. Julie is great."

Thanks to generous grants from Library People - Friends of Colorado Libraries based in Boulder, and the Jan Mueller ReMax Realty Team of Englewood, the book club is funded through early 2007.

The book club, still going strong six months later, continues to have a positive impact on the participants. "One component that makes this book club so life affirming for the girls is that the books are theirs to keep," said Julie Tufo. The girls have also had the opportunity to meet local author Lynda Sandoval and have copies of her book, WHO'S YOUR DADDY autographed. "Some of the girls living at Excelsior come without any personal possessions. By giving books to them, we are telling them that we believe they are smart and that they can participate in an activity where their ideas are respected."

Spiritual Therapy

On a noncompulsory basis, Excelsior offers a variety of religious activities and spiritual counseling. Nondenominational Sunday services, as well as regular Bible Study and social meetings are coordinated by our Chaplains.

Ron and Gail Bard

“We view ourselves as planting seeds,” says Ron Bard, who with his wife Gail has touched thousands of lives leading Excelsior’s spiritual program for the last twenty-two years. These dedicated Chaplains translate Christian-based principles into a language kids can understand, teaching love, responsibility, patience and forgiveness. Participation in this program is on a strictly voluntary basis, including a weekly Bible study class, a Sunday worship service, one-on-one spiritual counseling, bi-monthly Dunamis meetings and a weekly newsletter, The Good News Press.

Additionally, the Bards will arrange for girls to worship or connect with leaders or counselors of other religions.

Making Music With Their Hands and Feet

Excelsior's Award-Winning Step Team

Their rhythms sound like drum beats. Eleven girls who are trying to turn their lives around pull together to form an award-winning step team.

Stepping is a traditional activity that started in the African American community. Without any music, rhythms and beats are created with steel toe boots and the clapping of hands in a 10 to 12 minute routine. It is recreational and also a competitive sport in schools and universities across the country. It is judged on originality, difficulty, audience appeal, uniformity and costumes.

Two Exceslior girls and a coordinator came together in 2002 with a simple idea and the Sista' Soul Production was born. Two years later, the Step Team has gone from a playful, recreational idea to a winning step team. The girls have won first or second place in every competition.

"Winning has been an experience many of the girls have never had a chance to feel until they joined the team. Most of their lives have been filled with crime, heartache and disappointment," explains Taneshia Nettingham, Team Coordinator. "Very few of the girls have ever been a part of something so positive. We are family. That is what makes this team so unique. They ae learning how to work as a team and focus on something productive in their lives. This team's success is the combination of unconditional love, self respect, dedicated coaches, solid practices, team-building activities and the hunger to want to be the best."

Currently, the step team consists of 13 girls who come from all over the United States and range in age from 14 to 19. Because the girls' time at Excelsior can vary, there is a revolving door and new members join the team to carry on the legacy that has become so special at Excelsior.

"Though they all come from various backgrounds, they have one thing in common: love of stepping and their natural talent to do so," says Nettingham.

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