Evening of impact and inspiration

After work Thursday, I joined an estimated 250 people at the Rose Quarter for the second annual "Evening of Impact," a benefit for the African American Mentoring Program of Big Brothers Big Sisters Columbia Northwest.

As a member of the agency's Latino Mentoring Advisory Council, I've helped organize a couple of outreach events in our own community, so I readily accepted when my co-worker, Nikole Hannah-Jones, a mentor herself and a member of the African American Advisory Board, invited me to attend last night's event in the Rose Room, a spacious room above one of the main entrances to the Rose Garden that I didn't even know existed.

Long story short: The event was well organized with food and drink, well attended by newcomsers and friends of the program, and left an emotional impact, thanks to keynote speaker Margaret Bernstein, who told a tale worthy of her selection as 2000 National Big Sister of the Year.

Margaret is an award-winning reporter at The Plain Dealer in Cleveland, Ohio, a sister publication within the Advance Publications/Newhouse chain of newspapers. With a journalist's eye for detail and a storytelling structure just right for her narrative, she commanded our attention for a half-hour as she told of becoming a Big Sister to two sisters, Ernestine and Cora, who'd grown up amid parental neglect, abandoned by relatives, and with zero knowledge of how to prepare for a future on their own.

As a mentor and the product of a middle-class family from Los Angeles,   Margaret offered the girls so much they would have been denied otherwise: a responsible adult role model, companionship and weekend outings, an advocate who could push them in high school and help them apply to college. Her efforts earned national recognition and won all three a trip to the White House, where they met President Clinton. (Wish I had the photo to share, with their beaming smiles.)

Long after their official relationship ended, Margaret remains a part of the girls' lives. Ernestine is 29, mother of a 1-year-old, and operates her own day care business. Cora, 27, has a 7-year-old boy and works as a beautician. while taking art classes. "I marvel at what these girls have endured," Bernstein said.

She graciously credited Big Brothers Big Sisters for its commitment to mentoring and offering support and structure to those who serve as volunteer Bigs. I have no doubt that's true. But it's also clear that some things can't be learned from a manual. It takes a caring adult, with sticktoitiveness, a positive outlook, and a capacity to weather an adolescent's ups and downs.

Through her words and actions, Margaret Bernstein shows how it should be done.