CHARACTER COUNTS! "takes our program to a new level,” Susan Searles, CYS director at Fort Monroe, told the publication Casemate in November 2004. “It raises awareness and stresses the importance of continued parent and community involvement. It invites discussion … how can we be better mentors, and in what ways can we recognize and praise our children for the good character they’ve displayed over the year?"

Each of the CYS programs at Fort Monroe held special CC! activities in November 2004. For instance, Donna Ballance, director of the School Age Services, has an after-school class of 6- to 10-year-olds, and they built a special display and baked cookies for parents.

A Hampton police officer also visited the class to speak about responsibility, citizenship, and staying free from drugs and alcohol. “Positive role models are so important to the program,” Ms. Ballance said. “It really makes a difference when successful individuals within our own community -- to include brothers, sisters and older students -- step forward to say, ‘This is what I accomplished by being responsible,’ and ‘It’s cool to care for others and respect your community.’ I think that’s a big part of what this new initiative is about … putting more role models and mentors in the classroom and counteracting the negative influences that are often found in the television, music and entertainment industries.”

In connection with CC!, Ms. Ballance’s class held a “Coats for Kids” drive and collected donations for a food bank. Youngsters from the Child Development Center (CDC) also took part in numerous of cleanup projects.

“At such a young age, our kids may not understand the general concept of community service or citizenship,” said CDC director Susanne Elsass. “But they can learn the basic building blocks of those traits, like the feeling of pride when you do a good deed or the positive response from others when you lend a helping hand. It’s very effective. A lot of our kids who’ve moved on to the older youth programs here are still very much involved in community service.”

The CDC also unveiled a new CC! display at its center. It lets parents post the names of children who show Pillar behavior, and Ms. Elsass says CDC youngsters did much of the artwork.

“It may seem like the simplest thing, but it means the world to our kids to see their name highlighted,” Ms. Elsass said. Pillar-shaped art is everywhere in her classroom, and each Pillar bears the name of its trait. Her classroom is also dotted with pillar-shaped artwork, and students get to add names to the Pillars whenever they display the trait itself.

“I would say our expectations through CHARACTER COUNTS! mirror those of the Army values,” Ms. Ballance said. “We want to see good decision making and children doing the right thing even if nobody is there to notice. We expect teamwork and mentorship in the classroom. And, above all, we expect honesty.”