THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, March 20, 1996 TAG: 9603190090
SECTION: ISLE OF WIGHT CITIZEN PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY JODY R. SNIDER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CAMPTOWN LENGTH: Long : 174 lines
SEVENTH-GRADER Sherika White was failing social studies and pulling a D in mathematics at S.P. Morton Middle School in Franklin last year.
To boost her grades, Sherika, 14, began attending after-school tutoring sessions in Otelia Rainey's trailer in Camptown, a place where kids who need or want extra help with studies can get it from volunteers.
By the end of the next grading period, Sherika had pulled her social studies grade up to a C and her math up to a B.
``The tutoring sessions really paid off for me,'' Sherika said. ``... and the things that we discovered with her - like touring the Virginia Air and Space Center in Hampton - I didn't know anything about space before I went there.''
Rainey, 62, a private duty nurse in Virginia Beach, has been educating, entertaining and befriending the children of Camptown for 30 years through her organization, Camptown Youth Group Inc.
The group's aim is to educate kids spiritually, academically and morally. Tutoring sessions are held throughout the week, and kids are taken on monthly field trips to museums, colleges and other cultural events.
At the end of the school year, kids are rewarded with a weeklong bus trip that in the past has shuttled them to Disney World 12 times and cities such as Boston, Chicago and New Orleans, as well as cruising to the Bahamas - all places many had no hope of seeing before Rainey provided the opportunity.
The children pay little or nothing for the trips.
``I do this because this is where I live, and I care,'' Rainey said. ``This is my calling. There are certain things in life that God taps you for, and you know them as they come along.
``If a child has a need, no matter where he is, he's welcome in our group. We need to enhance our children's lives any way we can and lead them in a positive direction.''
Rainey's inspiration to help Camptown youth came from a 9-year-old boy who came into her father's store 30 years ago and began telling her that he had never ventured far beyond the Franklin area.
``I asked him if he'd ever been to Richmond?'' Rainey said, ``and he said, `No.' I asked if he'd ever been to Norfolk? He said, `No,' again. The only places this boy had gone was Suffolk and Murfreesboro, N.C.
``And I said, it's time for us to do something. It made me aware of other children in Camptown.''
That week, Rainey called together young people in the old Camptown schoolhouse. She told them they were going to go to Miami that summer, and they went. Those who could pay were charged $4 for a trip in chartered buses. For the others, Rainey found benefactors to pick up the tab.
Rainey said the first trip to Florida cost about $500 for 40 children. Last year's cost was $7,000 for 46 kids to travel to New Orleans.
Still, benefactors step in, and the children pay only what they can afford or nothing at all. This year, they'll go to New York City. Rainey hopes to get the kids seats at the ``Today'' show.
Why did Rainey choose the ``Today'' show?
``Everybody knows about the `Today' show,'' she said. ``And who knows which one of my children will be interested in television or radio one day? It's good for them to see people that they've seen on television.''
Rainey said finances for trips are raised through prayer and faith - faith that God will provide for her children's needs.
So far, those needs have been met.
One year, Rainey was short $1,000 - one month before her children were scheduled to leave for their annual trip.
``I went to my pastor, and I said, `I don't think we're going on a trip this year. We're $1,000 short.' He said, `Otelia, God owns 1,000 cattle on a hill. And he owns the hill, too. He will provide.'
``I prayed about it. And one night in my sleep, a man's name came to me. So that next morning, I got up and wrote him a letter, telling him what we were doing, and I mailed it. A few days later I found a check for $500 in my screen door. After that, the rest of the money and more came in. We had more than we needed when we left.''
Prayers also have been answered through Union Camp Corp., which has supported Rainey's efforts through the years by funding trips and donating a computer that Rainey's students now use.
Ann Stephens, manager of public relations for Union Camp, said the entire community has benefited from the experiences Rainey provides for youth.
``It's the future you're trying to shape,'' Stephens said. ``When you make children aware of the world outside their neighborhood, they're able to see things differently. It makes them reach for greater things. You don't know what to reach for if you don't know what's out there.''
So Rainey creates opportunities.
She encourages kids to go to college by sponsoring annual trips to nearby campuses such as Hampton University, Virginia Commonwealth University and Norfolk State.
Those who go to college are asked to come back and talk to younger ones about campus life, tuition costs and financial aid.
Rainey also takes her children to all the presidential inauguration ceremonies.
``Regardless of who wins, we go because it's our president,'' Rainey said. ``And we stay for the parade and freeze.''
But education is the heart and soul of this group.
``Regardless of what you talk about, it still comes down to being educated,'' Rainey said. ``You have to be educated about pregnancy. You have to be educated about AIDS, child abuse ...''
So Rainey invites speakers to talk on those issues with her kids.
On school nights, Rainey's trailer is wall-to-wall kids, all being tutored and everybody learning through a group of dedicated volunteers. At the end of each session, everybody gets a meal before they are shuttled home by Rainey or volunteers.
``I volunteer because I care,'' said Camanche Pope, Rainey's 41-year-old daughter. ``I look at these kids, and I know they are our future leaders. Somebody has to help them. Otherwise, we're looking at illiterate leaders or a lack of leaders altogether.''
For LaKisha Graham, a ninth-grade honor student at Windsor High School, the tutoring sessions have focused her on a future.
``Before I started coming six years ago, I never studied,'' said LaKisha, 15. ``When I come here, I'm encouraged to do the work, and that's helping me with my future. I want a career in the medical field or to be a lawyer.''
Volunteer Carol Davis, a secretary for Social Services in Franklin, attended the group 25 years ago, when she was growing up in Camptown. She now tutors kindergartners and first-graders.
``I remember going to the state fair, Disney World and Boston,'' said Davis, 35. ``It allowed me to get away from Franklin and see the sights. And now I bring my two boys. They love it. They love the trips, too. They think any time there's a trip, they're supposed to be there.''
In addition to the educational trips, Rainey also shuttles kids to church on Sundays in her van.
``Years ago, I had 25 to 30 kids that came with me each Sunday,'' she said. ``But I stopped that for a while, and now I'm starting it back up. We have 10 going now and we're growing.''
When Rainey recently learned about three children who didn't have the proper clothes needed to perform at a church function, Rainey and two other women provided for the children's needs.
``When a child goes to church and participates in activities that leads them to a better life through self-improvement or a willingness to try to be a better person, I have to help those children.
``It's not that any of us are rich,'' Rainey said, ``but God does tell us to share what we have. Whenever you give, and you give from your heart, it always comes back to you in greater measure.''
School officials also applaud Rainey's efforts.
Debra Hicks, coordinator for Pupil Services in Isle of Wight, said Camptown Youth fills a gap for kids who don't have parents that will interact with teachers, or for some reason, can't meet with teachers.
``With some kids, we see a complete turnaround in behavior and academics,'' Hicks said. ``Kids who had behavior problems straighten up because they want to go on the trips that she takes them on.
``She provides an incentive for kids to perform at their potential.''
Linda Porter, youth services coordinator for the Isle of Wight County Office on Youth, agrees.
``It's a very positive force in a community that doesn't have a lot of resources,'' Porter said. ``Many of these children don't get the academic help they need at home. So without this group, there would be a real void in the community.''
With all that might be wrong in Camptown, Rainey said, those who live there love it because it's home.
``We love where we live because it's family-oriented,'' she said. ``And when you need help, people come to help. It's a wonderful place to raise children.'' MEMO: Donations can be sent to: Camptown Youth Group Inc., 206 Pocahontas
Ave., Franklin, Va. 23851.
ILLUSTRATION: [Cover, Color photo]
A POSITIVE FORCE
Staff photo by MICHAEL KESTNER
Chester Uzzle does his homework at Otelia Rainey's trailer. Rainey
has dedicated her life to helping educate the children of Camptown.
Staff photos by MICHAEL KESTNER
Otelia Rainey is surrounded by young men doing their homework in her
trailer in Camptown. When not tutoring children, Rainey, 62, is a
private duty nurse in Virginia Beach.
Nija Claiborne concentrates on her homework at Otelia Rainey's
trailer.
Monie-Ka Stokes rode a skateboard to Rainey's trailer while Deon
Davis and Terrell Leonard rode their bikes to the study session.
by CNB