By Amanda Barber
Cydney Mason was presented with the “Best of the West” award at the Westside Collaborative Meetup this summer. Cydney, a Child Support Supervisor for the West Virginia Office of Constituent Services, is also an active leader and parent for the Westside community of Charleston.
Cydney is a parent representative on the board for the Bob Burdette Center and is highly involved with the afterschool program. Her twin children Ashtyn LaRee and Ayden LaMonte also attend the program.
Cydney often assists the students, parents, teachers and administration at Mary C. Snow West Side Elementary School. She attends Local School Improvement Council (LSIC) meetings and is a member of the Parent Teacher Organization (PTO). In addition, she helps with events such as school dances, book fairs, Santa’s workshops, and teacher appreciation activities. Cydney believes one of the reasons she was nominated for “Best of the West” is her diligence in supporting West Side Elementary.
“From day one for my kids, I’m a hands-on parent,” Cydney says. “So, you know, if they ask me to do something, I do it. If they ask me to sell something [for the school], I sell it. … Anything to make the teachers' jobs and the administration's jobs easier. Because how else as a parent would we know what’s going on in the school if we’re just sending our kids to the school, and we don’t show our faces?”
One of the many reasons the award is special to Cydney is because she is a “product of the Westside.” She remembers attending vacation bible school at Westside churches and playing at the Lawrence Dunbar Center on Second Avenue. She is close to many families in the community, such as those of Rev. Matthew Watts and Bishop Robert Haley. Cydney even grew up in a home that was once across from what is West Side Elementary today.
“I literally grew up right there, First Avenue,” Cydney says. “The house is no longer there, but like directly across the street from the school. That was Cabell Field when I was young – Cabell Alternative School and Cabell Field. They played baseball and football there.”
When asked about what she loves most about the Westside, Cydney says it is the sense of community. She admires those trying to make a difference with food giveaways, afterschool activities for children, and health resources. Cydney says she appreciates that one of the missions of Westside Together is to ensure the community is aware of these services.
“Because of the camaraderie and love, it’s like we’re always open with open arms. Like the Westside could just give anybody a big hug. … It's like we’re open, and you're accepted. … You know, sometimes some people have to get cleaned up, but it just takes the right people, the right organizations, which are being represented in the Westside Together.”
Cydney herself strives to be a positive light for Westside parents. She says she is a person who parents alone and works to extend encouragement and support to other families in the community. Cydney wants to let people know there are resources available for parents, and that they do not have to do this alone.
Cydney says another reason the “Best of the West” award is special is that it recognizes how much she works toward a better future for not only her children but all Westside youth. “As long as there’s breath in my body, I’m going to do what I have to do to make sure that they’re educated, respectful, [and] understand the sense of community and family,” she says.
Cydney explains that the “Best of the West” award was a pleasant surprise for her. She says she is grateful that the administration of West Side Elementary collaborated with Westside Together to nominate her for this award.
“Westside Together is an excellent organization, not just because they gave me an award,” Cydney says. “They’re an excellent organization because they pull together everything that’s accessible for people, and you all even put it in the mail and let people know. So, I applaud Westside Together and whoever came up with the organization.”
