Bethany embraced all that T.E.A.M. had to offer, including serving on its Junior Planning Advisory Council. Bo Nicholson, program director, explains that Bethany took her leadership development very seriously during the planning and facilitation of several events for youth in our program. She was not only keenly aware of her role shaping herself as a leader, but was also highly supportive and helpful with the other participants, wanting them to have positive, meaningful experiences of their own.

Today, Bethany is enjoying her very first "college student summer" after successfully completing her freshman year at Boston College, where she is following in the footsteps of her mentor Katie by majoring in social work.

It is young people like Bethany that inspire Sister Maryadele to keep up her early morning workouts as she prepares for the Rodman Ride. Sister Maryadele will be joined by Jim Dial, Emily Feigenberg, Eric Johnson, Jeff Kaneb, Anna Kaneb, Bo Nicholson and Barry Veronesi on behalf of Catholic Charities. Now in our eighth year of participation, Catholic Charities has a fundraising goal of $120,000 to support our programming. The Ride will match 10 percent of the dollars raised and underwrite all costs for the event. That means that 110 percent of your donation goes directly to Catholic Charities' youth serving programs, including our summer camp and our mentoring, tutoring, afterschool and street worker outreach programs.

We are all very proud of Bethany, and thankful for the ways that the Rodman Ride makes a difference in the lives of so many young people like her with the critical support that programs receive through such generosity.

Deborah Kincade Rambo is the President of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Boston. To learn more about the work Catholic Charities go to www.ccab.org.