Volunteer Gains Common Ground

Tim Leadem started the Chapel Hill Youth Residents Council to help minority youth contribute positively to their neighborhoods.

Tim Leadem knows exactly how green the grass is on the other side of the cultural fence.

Since early spring, Leadem has tirelessly immersed himself in helping high school students take control of their community to make it more youth-friendly.

Leadem is responsible for starting and organizing the Chapel Hill Youth Residents Council, which consists of youths from local housing projects who meet once a week to discuss important topics that affect their communities.

Through this work, Leadem has not only offered positive mentoring and leadership but found commonalities with those of a different background. "I am a middle-class white kid now in an environment working solely with African-American high school students," he said. "I was initially met with skepticism because of where I came from, but I came to do something positive."

Volunteering is nothing new to Leadem. In between his classes at Guilford College, where he recently graduated with an English degree, Leadem donated his time at the local YMCA to work with children.

After graduation, he became involved with North Carolina Public Allies, a nonprofit organization that places volunteers with nonprofit jobs. He was led to the Chapel Hill Adult Residents Council at a time when its members wanted to see a similar program for the young people.

He immediately saw the value in the idea and volunteered to establish the council. "Chapel Hill needs to utilize the resources that it has," Leadem said. "The youth do have valuable insight and do recognize what's going on in their neighborhoods."

The goal of the council is to become a self-sufficient organization that partners with the adult council to implement community changes.

Two representatives from each housing project meet once a week to discuss neighborhood issues such as drugs, crime and school environment. Leadem went door-to-door this spring to enlist these young volunteers.

Leadem trained the youths on running efficient meetings and fund-raising techniques. But for the program to run smoothly, they first had to break down cultural barriers.

"It takes time for people to realize that you mean what you say and you're not just putting up a front," he said. "A lot of people who do that kind of (volunteer) work go in with the intention, `I'm everyone's best friend and everyone's going to like me,' until you put on someone else's shoes and imagine what it's like."

Leadem held workshops on racism and enhancing one's community and gave his life lessons while exploring common interests with the youths to bridge the cultural gap.

Lezley TwoBears, program coordinator for the Chapel Hill Residents Council, put Leadem in this role that allowed him to get as much out of the program as the children did.

"Tim is a very unusual man," TwoBears said. "We get a lot of people who volunteer, but rarely do we get those who want to learn as much as the people they teach."

And Leadem does not plan on stopping. "I want to start programs where there is a lot less talking down to the youth and a lot more talking with the youth," he said. "Instead of telling them their own ideas, let them come up with their own."

He is now working for a Durham restaurant and plans to attend graduate school.

Offering advice to other volunteers, Leadem said they must first examine themselves. "Open your eyes to new things and learn," he advises volunteers. "Learn about yourself and learn about other people, but be sure to check your misconceptions and shortcomings at the door."

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