Collegiate Times

What is a true hero? According to Michael Merriman, founder of True Hero, Inc., it is a student who serves others that embodies the characteristics of true heroism: authenticity, loyalty and nobility of purpose.

Merriman founded True Hero, Inc. with the goal of increasing the visibility, recognition and funding of the numerous student service projects happening across the country and the world. He found his inspiration to pursue this endeavor after participating in his son's high school service trip to an orphanage and AIDS clinic in Honduras during March 2008. 

This summer, Virginia Tech service-learning students were among those receiving True Hero recognition with a $2,000 grant to support its work with refugees from African nations. The outreach to refugees, better known as the Pilot Street Project, was launched in 2006 to provide adult ESL and homework help to Somali Bantu people who arrived in the United States in 2005.

The program has since grown to provide a variety of educational programs for newcomers in three different public housing complexes. Approximately 130 Virginia Tech students, many from service-learning classes, are involved in the program annually. In addition to survival English, the project offers programs in Citizenship Preparation, Family Literacy and Financial Literacy.

A partnership with Refugee and Immigration Services includes a College Preparation class. The project also plans to support five Somali Bantu men who want to attend the Grower’s Academy sponsored by VT Earthworks.

In spring 2010, a student organization formed to support the project. The Coalition for Refugee Resettlement currently handles all homework help and in-home tutoring for school-aged children.

Elders in the Somali Bantu community articulated the need for youth and teen programming. Service-learners interviewed teens who described what they needed to help them in their high school classes and to prepare them for post-secondary education. An adolescent literacy program was designed based on the teens’ insights.

The project is partnering with the Start City Soccer Foundation in Roanoke to provide one-on-one tutoring, science and math homework help and recreational soccer at William Fleming High School.

True Hero funding is supporting a newly launched Family Literacy program for mothers and their pre-school aged children at Indian Rock Village in Roanoke.

The Pilot Street Project was awarded a True Hero grant after posting a description of its work at Truehero.org. Tech received the third most votes — 667 — of the 75 projects posted during the 2009-2010 competition. The project is now live for the 2010-2011 competition. Go to TrueHero.org to vote.

In addition to True Hero, the Pilot Street Project/Coalition for Refugee Resettlement is participating in another online challenge with Global Giving, an online fundraising site that connects donors to grassroots organizations around the world. During the Global Giving December Open Challenge, the project will appeal for funds to develop adolescent literacy initiatives for refugee youth.

The Global Giving Open Challenge goes live on Nov. 22 and lasts one month. The project needs to raise $4,000 from 50 donors in order to gain a permanent presence on the site.

The Pilot Street Project/Coalition for Refugee Resettlement is a signature program of the Center for Student Engagement & Community Partnerships. Students interested in learning more about the Project and how to get involved can visit our website at vtserves.vt.edu or contact William Evans at wevans@usc.edu.

A version of this article appeared in the Oct 19 issue of the Collegiate Times.