YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - A special celebration this weekend will pay tribute to a woman who has dedicated her life to fighting poverty and the consequences it holds for Youngstown area children and their families. She's not a celebrity or a politician, but most everyone has heard of Sister Jerome Corcoran.

To many she is known as the little nun who gets things done. As she approaches her 100th birthday, Sister Jerome is still going strong. Much of her life has focused on education, and even now her face lights up when recalling her days as a teacher.

"I taught six years in elementary school and I loved it. Then I taught six years at Ursuline high school and I loved that," she said with a big smile.

In 1976 she founded Millcreek Children's Center, which she directed for 36 years. Then in 1998 she helped found the Youngstown Community School. Her goal was to make sure all deserving children were literate.

"That they learn, that they learn how to read, that they learn how to speak, they learn how to present themselves, the whole package is literacy," Sister Jerome said.

At age 96, with support of the Ursuline Sisters, she established Sister Jerome's Poor, with a goal of continuing to help working poor families and to enable inner city college students to graduate and get good jobs. Tekia Huggins is one of her students, who first met Sister Jerome when she was nine years old,

"She was always concerned about the young kids and their education and made sure we stayed on top of everything," said Huggins. Tekia will graduate from YSU this fall.

Darla Scott is a volunteer with Sister Jerome's Poor, and she says there is no counting the number of lives that Sister has changed because she made sure a child knew at an early age that someone cares.

"When you let them know that they have an important part in their way of life, that they are important and they are somebody," Scott said.

When asked what she credits for her energy at age 99, Sister Jerome says, "I haven't a clue,".

Sister Jerome's 100th birthday is in April and on October 11th at the Georgetown she will be honored with a centennial celebration of her work and her life.