Johnny Davis is a Jack-of-all-trades and master of all! He was first recruited to serve on the CISCC Board of Directors and currently serves as the 2017-18 fiscal year board Treasurer. Johnny also is a mentor, facilitator for the Cooking Matters classes, volunteers with the Youth Garden and volunteered for Challenge Day at Chatham Middle School in the fall of 2016. And he does it all with a smile! Johnny found Challenge Day to be a phenomenal experience in terms of how it was able to get adults and kids to think about life, why they do the things they do, and the consequences for their actions. For the Cooking Matters classes, the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle in Raleigh provides the food, the curriculum and the structure. Johnny drives his truck every week to Raleigh to “shop” for the food the class needs. Participants take leftover food home and put their new culinary skills to work right away! Johnny thinks it’s cool to watch kids sometimes look at food they think they don’t like, but have different ideas at the end of class. For the CIS Youth Garden, Johnny recently installed the complicated irrigation system that is connected with a cistern, harvesting water from the roof of a nearby building. By far the most rewarding aspect of volunteering with CISCC, though, is Johnny’s relationship with his mentee, Fernando. During the school year, Johnny and Fernando meet twice weekly for shorter blocks of time to focus on homework and physical activity. In the summertime, however, they often spend entire days together. One time Johnny flew Fernando and his cousin to the beach for the day, and they all had a blast! Johnny keeps a journal of everything he and Fernando have done together. How meaningful it will be for both Fernando and Johnny to look back on years from now to reflect on their shared experiences. Johnny understands the essential pieces of our nonprofit puzzle—both on-stage and behind the scenes—and he is gifted in how he communicates these pieces to the various stakeholders. Johnny says, “Everybody here is focused on the kids, and I feel privileged to be a part of it.”
