Jane Coleman honored by YMCA

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Jane Coleman has been honored with a Lifetime Membership for the financial and volunteer support she and her late husband, Bob Coleman, provided through the Bob and Jane Coleman Youth in Government Endowment Fund.

At the urging of the Bob Coleman, YMCA of Greenville established the statewide Youth in Government program in 1988, according to a YMCA press release. The goal of Youth in Government is to help create the next generation of good citizens by laying out the workings of local, state and national governmental systems so participants will understand how to affect change within these systems. The YMCA says the program has grown to be the third largest of its kind in the country.

In 2017, a record-breaking 2,100 middle and high school students from 60 different schools across the state participated in its Model Legislature and Court conference, the new release said. With its other programs, such as Model U.N., nearly 3,000 students are served annually. The Bob and Jane Coleman Youth in Government Endowment Fund provides much needed funding so that any student who wants to participate can, regardless of ability to pay.

“Jane Coleman is the epitome of a servant leader who is truly dedicated to helping others succeed,” Scot Baddley, president and CEO, YMCA of Greenville, said in the news release. “She has been known to say that there is no better investment than the YMCA to see an impact in people’s lives. Due to her leadership and generosity, more than 25,000 South Carolina youth have participated in Youth in Government – an impact that the Y would not have been able to achieve without her.”

The Lifetime Membership award is given to an individual who has tremendously impacted the mission, programs and the people the YMCA of Greenville serves. Jane Coleman is the first female recipient of the award.

“The lessons learned through Youth in Government are life-changing. For instance, students learn that it is important to be informed, to learn to disagree without being disagreeable, how to compromise, if necessary, and that citizenship is not passive – it is important to vote,” said Jane Coleman. “One of the biggest and most exciting things I see is the confidence these kids gain. I am in awe seeing them stand before a group of adults to make a speech without a note – amazing! The friendships these children make, and the lessons learned through their Youth in Government experiences are forever.”