McCoy lives to pay it forward
Tennille McCoy said it all started with the Girl Scouts.
The second-time Hamilton Township Council candidate joined the organization as a child and was exposed to community service early on. She recalled enjoying fundraising and visiting senior citizen homes, and that passion for volunteering her time has stuck with her ever since. She said she spends nearly all of her free time giving back to the community she was born and raised in. McCoy is running for the two years left on Mayor Kelly Yaede’s unexpired council term.
“My parents always made sure that we were involved,” she said. “We were always out there working in the community. That’s probably where I got started.”
McCoy currently works with local organizations like Mercer County Dress for Success. She started off there styling women.
“Having them come through the door one way and then leaving with this self-confidence brings a huge smile to my face,” she said. “I eat it up. I love it. I love letting them look a certain way because that’s half the battle when you go into a job interview. You have to have that self-confidence. You want to make sure you dress the part.”
Now, she works in the career center where she helps women post resumes to job boards, craft cover letters and search for career opportunities. Working with women no matter their age, McCoy said, is something in which she places a lot of value.
“I’m a firm believer in making sure we build self-confidence in young women, especially nowadays,” she said. “We want to make sure that they know they’re beautiful, they know they’re intelligent, and they recognize that they are wanted and needed in this particular community to keep us moving.”
Eventually, though, she hopes to start a branch of Dress for Success that caters to men as well.
“I would love to organize something for young men, providing ties, suits and shoes,” she said. “You see a lot of young men who don’t necessarily have the funds to go out and get brand new suits. There are so many men who are throwing away suits now. That’s something that I want to work on in the near future.”
McCoy, 35, is also a member of the Robert Wood Johnson Hospital Foundation Young Professionals Group, where locals of any occupation are able to meet and network. They recently helped raise funds for the hospital’s new pediatric center.
“I’m a firm believer in making sure that not only do you mentor, but we’re networking with young professionals and we’re able to build and provide advice for one another,” she said. “It doesn’t necessarily matter sometimes what industry you’re a part of. You’re always able to offer something to the community or another person.”
Mercer County freeholder John Cimino said McCoy’s constant service has had a lasting impact on Hamilton.
“She is truly dedicated to the community,” he said. “She really has such a positive influence through the groups she works with.”
McCoy helps slightly younger folks get on their feet and make connections through her work with the Trenton chapter of the National Congress of Black Women. They raise scholarship money for students throughout Mercer County.
“You do not have to be a minority student,” she said. “You just have to be a Mercer County student. You don’t have to be a straight-A student. I am a firm believer in a well-rounded young individual, so if I see a B-student who plays football, that would definitely push me to say that person should get the scholarship. That’s something I do enjoy.”
A human resources specialist in the Camden school district by trade, McCoy is passionate about education. That is even more prominent in the Hamilton area, where all of her schooling took place. She attended Klockner Elementary and then Reynolds Middle School. Part of the way through her career at Reynolds, her class became the first to make the move to Crockett. She also attended Nottingham High School.
“Education is the foundation of this town,” she said. “I believe that if we invest in our educational system, we decrease crime, our home values will increase. It’s just an overall better community. To me, education and working with our youth is really important.”
McCoy is also associated with City of Angels, the Myron Rolle Wellness & Leadership Academy and the New Jersey Leadership Program. Each of these, she said, share a similar trait: mentoring.
“When you’re at a certain point in your life, I think it’s always important to mentor someone, no matter what you do,” she said. “It’s always important to mentor someone else and let them know about the trials and tribulations you have gone through and provide them with wisdom.”
Cimino said it’s easy to see why McCoy is so passionate about the wellbeing of others.
“She looks at Hamilton as having a positive influence on her life,” he said. “She wants to leave it even better for those coming up behind her.”
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