Cincinnati honors late youth mentor Miriam E. West

Provided by the Family Miriam Evonne West, who was the founding director of the Cincinnati Youth Collaborative Mentoring Program and a retired 30-year educator of Cincinnati Public Schools, passed away on January 16, 2024, at age of 79 years. She was appointed by the Cincinnati Public Schools superintendent in 1989 to develop a youth mentoring program that would affect the lives of Cincinnati Public School students. Under her leadership, with a supportive staff, community volunteers and John Pepper, former CEO of The Procter & Gamble Company, she established one of the largest single-site mentoring programs in the United States. Cincinnati Youth Collaborative became one of the most effective mentoring programs serving more than 2,000 youths annually.  Mrs. West recruited, trained, and supported thousands of community volunteers. During her tenure (1989-2003) The Cincinnati Youth Collaborative (CYC) received numerous local and national awards and recognitions. One highlight of her tenure at CYC was in 1996,  when John Pepper invited her to join President William J. Clinton to be part of a community round-table discussion at Xavier University to discuss quality initiatives for improving the lives of children. Two years later, the program was recognized by the Governor of Ohio as one of...