Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Martinez inspires at YMCA function

Going from a foster child to a U.S. senator shows possibilities.

By KEVIN GRAHAM
Published February 27, 2007

TAMPA - Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Fla., remembers the peanut butter and jelly sandwich his foster family gave him when he came to Florida from Cuba at age 15.

He had never seen peanut butter and realized he had a lot to learn about life in the United States. He remembers feeling alone and trying to rely on himself for survival. He later realized he couldn't.

"You can't do it alone," he said Monday at the Tampa Metropolitan Area YMCA to a group of nearly two dozen young adults, many of whom had been in foster care themselves.

He spent an hour with the 16- to 22-year-olds who participate in the YMCA's Workforce Empowerment program, a community initiative in its first year that aims to provide training, support and life skills to Hillsborough County young people.

Martinez also touted the importance of the YMCA. He left a job bagging groceries during junior college to work for the YMCA, Martinez said.

Mary Ann Kershaw, director of the Workforce Empowerment program, said the initiative's goal is to serve 100 young adults in its first year. There are 79 active participants so far. They came through referrals from friends in the program, the Sheriff's Office and children's services agencies like Hillsborough Kids Inc.

Martinez told the young adults that success would come if they worked hard and maintained discipline and self-respect.

"In this country, if you play by the rules and have faith in God, all things are possible," he said.

YMCA initiative

Workforce Empowerment, a community initiative of the Tampa Metropolitan Area YMCA, operates through corporate donations and a $743,000 grant from the Labor Department. The program aims to provide workforce training, mentoring and life skills to people ages 16 to 22 who live in Hillsborough County. Some slots are still open. Contact director Mary Ann Kershaw at maryann. kershaw@tampaymca.org or (813) 223-4202.

[Last modified February 27, 2007, 00:10:28]