Jackie Smith, 37 / Executive Director, Community Youth Program at St. John's
Jackie Smith holds a degree in Communication Studies from Hollins University, graduating in 2009. She devoted seven years as the Program Director for Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Southwest Virginia before assuming her current role as the Executive Director of the Community Youth Program (CYP). Smith assists children with school enrollment, secures affordable housing for families in need and generously purchases coats and shoes for kids. She serves as a crucial link, translating medical documents, rental agreements and other essential information for non-English-speaking parents. Her tenure has seen remarkable achievements, including record-breaking fundraising events, doubling fundraising income and improving the academic performance of at-risk youth, evidenced by a threefold increase in overall grades among CYP participants. “I am passionate about helping my students reach their potential and find success in their lives. I want to help them build the skills they will need to be capable and confident adults who go on to have their own positive impact on their community. Seeing their growth makes the challenges of this job completely worthwhile.”
Professional Experience:
- Completed a comprehensive thesis on the portrayal of African Americans in the Roanoke Times
- Worked as Program Director for Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Southwest Virginia.
- Successfully expanded and improved upon all aspects of CYP's operations.
- Hosted record-breaking fundraising events to support CYP's programs.
- Significantly increased the number of at-risk and underserved youth served by CYP.
- Ensured an over threefold improvement in the overall grades of the children in CYP.
- Doubled the program's fundraising income, resulting in more resources to help children and families.
From the Nominations: “Jackie Smith graduated Hollins University with a degree in Communication Studies. She spent months upon months of her Senior year researching and writing a comprehensive thesis on the unfair and biased negative portrayal of African Americans in the Roanoke Times. Upon graduating, Smith immediately knew that she wanted to go into the non-profit realm. She has worked with at-risk youth in a non-profit setting ever since.
She dedicated seven years as Program Director for Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Southwest Virginia. When the opportunity presented itself to apply for a position at CYP, she immediately knew it would be a great fit for her. One of the most attractive qualities of this position was the ability to spend much more time one-on-one with children, working to truly understand and cater to each child's needs in their learning and growth, both scholastically and in life. Though this program is smaller than that of BBBS, her individual impact on the children of her program is immense. CYP now serves 37+ at-risk and underserved youth in Roanoke City, a number that has increased since Smith's involvement. Each year, Smith welcomes new children into the program and she hopes to continue to grow its impact and footprint.
Smith consistently meets and exceeds her yearly goals. Each year that she has been with CYP, she has hosted record-breaking fundraising events; funds that go directly to fueling the program and enhancing what she can offer to the children. She has expanded and improved upon every single aspect of the program since day one in her position, including the source and volume of funding. Her free time is spent thinking about how she could improve the reach and impact of her already successful work, all the while feeling that she could be doing more. If you asked her, she would deny that she works as hard as she does. I think for her, her job isn't a 'job' — it's just part of her life, a part that brings her so much joy, laughter and a sense of worth. Of course, in non-profit work, not every day is one filled with wins. There are times that the extreme need of the families hits her hard. She wants so badly to fix their lives and take their pain away and the inability to do so would make anyone feel helpless. But she'll never stop trying. For Smith, those children's lives are her life.
Smith has incredible insight into the needs of the under-served community in Roanoke. She is welcomed with open arms and celebrated by all of the families involved in CYP. She is an undeniably valuable resource for them in all aspects of life.
Her weekends (her very limited time-off) are spent helping children enroll in the correct school systems, finding affordable housing for families in need, buying coats and shoes for her kids (with money from her own pocket sometimes) and translating medical documents, rental agreements and other crucial information for parents of children who don't speak English.
'Impressive' doesn't even begin to touch on Smith's qualities. She exudes professionalism, dedication and drive every minute of every day. Her world revolves around the children and families that she serves through CYP. Not a weekend goes by that Smith isn't communicating with the kids and their families. It seems like every Saturday or Sunday Jackie is volunteering to take a child back to school shopping, buying them much needed winter coats and shoes, or even spending hours at a CYP family's home working to help translate medical documents from English to Spanish for those families that are not English-speaking. Many parents and caregivers don't have a car, or sometimes even a license, so Jackie is the first to volunteer to spend her nights and weekends driving families to get groceries, attend doctor's appointments and even join and support them in appointments with their immigration attorneys. She is an impressive force of nature and her love and care for the children that she works with is truly unmatched. Roanoke is so lucky to have people like Jackie who are incredibly dedicated to supporting families in our community that need it the most.
Smith has incredible insight into the needs of the underserved community in Roanoke. She is welcomed with open arms and celebrated by all of the families involved in CYP. She is an undeniably valuable resource for them in all aspects of life. Her weekends are spent helping children enroll in the correct school systems, finding affordable housing for families in need, buying coats and shoes for her kids (with money from her own pocket sometimes) and translating rental documents and other crucial information for parents of children who don't speak english.
In Smith's time at CYP, she has completely changed the kids' outlook on schooling and their prospects for further education. Overall grades of the children have improved more than threefold! She has also more than doubled the program's fundraising income, which means more resources and ability to help the children and their families.
Smith truly deserves to be recognized for her amazing and unwavering support of the under-served Roanoke community.”
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“...In addition to her daytime commitment of serving students at CYP, Smith gives her personal time in remarkable ways that involve the community at large. Whether it be helping families with school enrollment, aiding in off-hours transportation and grocery needs, seeking affordable housing and navigating the Byzantine world of rental agreements, or simply picking up coats and shoes for people in need, Smith is there. Her approach is holistic and expansive.
Smith is a people-centric professional. Generally speaking, it is easy for highly driven, charismatic personalities to attract attention to themselves and the world is quick to recognize and reward those who put on impressive displays of ambition. However, Smith inherently directs attention toward others in her care. She represents the best of us because she brings out the best in others, especially children who are in such a crucial stage of their lives.”
What do you love about Roanoke?
“Roanoke is an incredible community and I am fortunate to call it home. I love Roanoke for the same reasons we are consistently named ‘Best of’ and ‘Top 10’ in national publications. I think our outdoor living, culture and quality of life are some of the best in the country. I love that this community offers countless options for great food, breweries, music, festivals and outdoor activities. I can’t think of a better place to live.”
How does your passion impact our community?
“I am passionate about helping my students reach their potential and find success in their lives. I want to help them build the skills they will need to be capable and confident adults who go on to have their own positive impact on their community. Seeing their growth makes the challenges of this job completely worthwhile.”