MINDY STREET

Mindy Street, Miss Auburn , has educated her community about Attention Deficit Disorder (A.D.D.) and implemented a mentoring program to help children at a local elementary school, especially those who suffer from A.D.D. She has developed a program entitled “ADD for Success” which focuses on areas that have proven most difficult for those who have been diagnosed with A.D.D. Using bright visuals and interactive games, she has captured the attention of children to help them with focus, comprehension organization and completion of tasks.

Mindy has partnered with CHADD, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping children and adults with A.D.D. She has chosen this partnership in hopes of impacting people across the U.S. with her “ADD Success” Program. Mindy has been instrumental with CHADD in developing a Teachers Manual to be distributed throughout the U.S. She served on a national committee of researchers and educators in this effort. Her involvement has included revisions of the manual materials, offering input to the content of the material, and interviewing local educators to solicit ideas and manual materials. The manual will educate classroom teachers on effective teaching methods for children with AD/HD.

In October 2004, Mindy participated in the CHADD International Convention held in Nashville, TN. She met renowned leaders and researchers in AD/HD. She acquired valuable knowledge to take back to the local schools and her community. Mindy’s dedication to CHADD and helping those with A.D.D. and AD/HD has been demonstrated by two fundraisers that she herself organized. Fundraiser goals included raising monies for research, increasing name recognition of CHADD and educating the public about CHADD. Results included over $1,300 raised through a silent auction; a substantial amount of publicity for the events; and educating many people during the events about CHADD and AD/HD. She is presently in the process of hosting a “No Show Dinner” with hopes of raising more funds for CHADD.

Mindy has utilized the experience and knowledge gained through her involvement with CHADD by starting a local after school mentoring program, targeting K to 5th grade. She assisted the children in learning important skills that many children, especially ones with AD/HD, never learn. These include goal setting skills, listening skills and organizational skills. She has seen direct results from time spent with these children including a drastic improvement in grades, improved handwriting skills and the development of organizational skills.

In addition to mentoring these children, Mindy has spoken to over 1,000 other elementary school children about “ADD for Success.” She has also informed many adults about the program and AD/HD through faculty meetings, organizations and civic groups. Mindy is truly dedicated and plans to continue to champion this cause. Her future goals include conducting additional fundraising for CHADD and promoting the Teachers Manual throughout educational systems in her state. Her most challenging goal is educating her college peers about AD/HD and recruiting them as mentors in the local school system. Through her recent election as Miss Auburn, Mindy will implement her mentoring program at her university.