Franklin County Caring Communities

Reprinted from Mentor Minute. 
January 3, 2012: President Barack Obama has issued a proclamation designating January as National Mentoring Month, saying, “Every day, mentors help young Americans face the challenges of growing into adulthood. By setting a positive example and sharing their time, knowledge and experience, mentors play an essential role in preparing our Nation’s youth for a bright future. During National Mentoring Month, we celebrate the contributions of all those who cultivate a supportive environment for the next generation, and we recommit to expanding mentorship opportunities across our country.”

January 2012 marks the 11th anniversary of National Mentoring Month, an annual media campaign to recruit volunteer mentors for young people. Spearheaded by the Harvard Mentoring Project of the Harvard School of Public Health, MENTOR and the Corporation for National and Community Service, this year’s campaign tagline is Invest in the Future. Mentor a Child.

Mentors, backed by quality mentoring programs, play a powerful role in preventing substance abuse and youth violence, as well as boosting academic achievement and workforce readiness. Studies have shown a more than 250 percent return on a $1 investment in mentoring and myriad quality of life benefits to the mentor, too. Mentors help build young people’s character and confidence, expand their universe and help them navigate pathways to successful adulthood. Despite this proven impact, the gap between the number of mentors and the number of young people who need a mentor is still too large. While three million young people have a mentor, 15 million need a caring adult mentor in their lives.

“National Mentoring Month gives the mentoring field an opportunity to collectively celebrate the proven impact of quality programs and the impactful service of mentors nationwide while also sounding the call to grow the movement through increased volunteerism and financial investment,” said MENTOR’s President and CEO David Shapiro. “We thank our national partners across sectors, including the media and funders who make it possible to sound that call, and we thank the Mentoring Partnerships and programs that creatively implement and expand the campaign every year and work to close the mentoring gap everyday.”

“We feel fortunate that President Obama shined the spotlight on National Mentoring Month in this proclamation, and we applaud his and First Lady Michelle Obama’s personal commitment and example through their mentoring programs in the White House,” Shapiro added.

In his proclamation, Obama noted, “Last January, we partnered with businesses across America to launch the Corporate Mentoring Challenge, which calls on corporations to begin or expand mentoring programs that pair children with positive role models, foster leadership skills and put them on the path to success in school and beyond. As part of our steadfast commitment to support our service members and their loved ones, we are funding new mentorship opportunities for children from military families.  And we are continuing to engage faith and community groups to help recruit mentors who can guide our youth in education, employment and engaged citizenship.”

Michelle Obama announced the Corporate Mentoring Challenge at the first National Mentoring Summit last January. MENTOR will again host the Summit, along with Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, the Corporation for National and Community Service, the Harvard School of Public Health, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention and United Way Worldwide, January 24 and 25 in Washington, D.C. The Summit gives the field and cross-sector partners an opportunity to learn and grow together to better meet the mentoring needs of the nation’s young people.

For additional information about National Mentoring Month, visit SERVE.gov/MENTOR. For more information and resources on quality youth mentoring and MENTOR’s network of Mentoring Partnerships and programs, visit www.mentoring.org or contact mentoring@fcccp.org for information about opportunities right here in Franklin County, Vermont.

(republished courtesy of National Organizations for Youth Safety’s Under YOUR Influence Newsletter)  

December is National Drunk and Drugged Driving Prevention (3D) Month.  
Did You Know? 

There is approximately one death per every 48 minutes that is related to an alcohol-impaired motor vehicle crash. (source: CDC)    

Why Prevent Underage Drinking?
When the physical effects of alcohol are coupled with emotional immaturity and inexperience, the effects on young drinkers can be devastating. Alcohol is a depressant and a neurotoxin. Alcohol alters and kills brain cells and can adversely affect an individual’s ability to form new memories. This can be especially significant for young people who are in school and should be assimilating new information daily.(source: NHTSA)
  For more underage drinking facts, visit UnderYOURInfluence/underagedrinking 

Ingesting too much alcohol can be fatal.
Binge drinking (consuming five or more drinks on one occasion) is a particularly dangerous form of drinking. About 90% of the alcohol consumed by youth under the age of 21 in the United States is in the form of binge drinks. Many young people ingest large amounts of alcohol at one time and drink very rapidly, which can also create dangerous overdoses of alcohol and lead to death. (source: CDC)

Know the Cost of Drinking and Driving.
During December 2009, there were 753 people killed in traffic crashes that involved drivers or motorcycle riders with blood alcohol concentrations  of .08 grams per deciliter or higher.Not only do you risk killing or injuring yourself or someone else, but the trauma and financial costs of a crash or an arrest for driving while impaired can be significant. (source: NHTSA) Resources: 

 

New! As part of a new initiative to build on Connecticut’s 2008 overhaul of its teen driver laws, the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles has convened an Advisory Committee, and assigned as one of its first tasks to come up with a statewide consensus model for a Teen-Parent river agreement. Take a look at this new Teen-Parent Agreement! Check out a video that introduces the Teen-Parent Agreement.

 

Stay tuned for a new version of this agreement that can be used for any teen and parent around the United States. 

 

Community How To Guides On Underage Drinking Prevention
Data and Stats on Impaired Driving 

We will be screening this at Caring Communities on Thursday, August 25th –bring a lunch and join us at 1 PM! Or, you can sign up for it by following the links below.

 A FREE, Public Domain Video Program
Available as a C-Satellite Downlink and as an On-Demand Webcast
 
Thursday, August 25th, 2011  
1:00-2:00 PM ET
 
The attitudes about marijuana are changing. Fewer 8th and 10th graders believe smoking marijuana is dangerous. These declines in the perception of harm invariably precede increases in substance use. Today, more 10th and 12th grade students smoke marijuana than cigarettes. Several states have medical marijuana laws on the books and more states are considering putting these types of initiatives on the ballot. Coalitions need the latest information in order to effectively deal with this issue.
 
During this hour-long program, The Blunt Truth: Communities Dealing with Marijuana, hear how coalitions are getting their prevention message out as laws and attitudes change. Learn the best ways to educate the public about marijuana’s harmful effects on the developing brain. Find out how coalitions are working with local and state governments on legislation and ordinances.
 
We’ll visit Fort Collins, Colorado to see how that city is dealing with almost two dozen dispensaries that have opened in just the past two years.
 
Key Concepts:
 
- Learn strategies to educate the public
- Gain new allies and strategies for community mobilization
- Find out how coalitions are working with governments on legislation and ordinances
 
Target Audiences: 
 This pre-recorded program is targeted to anyone interested in learning more about how coalitions are striving to educate the public about the developmental dangers of marijuana and how coalitions are working locally on legislation and ordinances to limit the effects of legalization. Coalitions, preventionists, educators, religious organizations, counselors, law enforcement officials, and parents could benefit from viewing this broadcast..  This program is also suitable for general public access television audiences.

Hosted By:
Mary Elizabeth Elliott, Vice President of Communications, Membership, and Information Technology, CADCA
 
Content Providers:
 Wanda Boone, Executive Director and Founder of Durham Together for Resilent Youth, “TRY”
 Wanda Boone founded her coalition in 2003 after decades of working with at risk youth and their families.  T.R.Y. operates programs for parents, youth, pregnant teens, and adjudicated youth.  She has more than 30 years experience in executive management.  Boone is President Obama’s Faith and Community Partnership representative for North Carolina and is one of the executive founding members of the East Durham Children’s Initiative, modeled after the Harlem Children’s Zone.  Boone earned an RN degree from the Englewood School of Nursing in Englewood, NJ.  She is a certified senior research associate and senior medical technologist at Duke University Medical Center.  
 
Jim Cooper,  Executive Director TOGETHER! & President Washington Assocation for Substance Abuse and Violence Prevention (WASAVP)  
 Jim Cooper has 15 years of nonprofit, corporate and government leadership experience working with community organizations, governments and businesses to achieve positive outcomes for people and for the environment.  In addition to his work at TOGETHER!, he is the president of the Washington Association for Substance Abuse and Violence Prevention (WASAVP), and a member of the statewide coalition to reduce underage drinking, RUaD.   As an Army veteran and political activist, Cooper works to stand up for issues that affect health and safety.  Cooper studied at Colorado State University and has an Associate of Arts Degree from Whatcom Community College.
 
Beth Shrader, Director, Brattleboro Area Prevention Coalition, Vermont
 Beth Shrader has been the director of the Brattleboro Area Prevention Coalition in Vermont since 2004. Prior to joining the coalition, Shrader was involved in non-profit management, higher education and volunteer administration for more than 20 years while living in New Jersey.
 
Shrader holds a degree from Rutgers University in Natural Resource Management and attended graduate school at NC State University in forestry. 
 
 Sponsors: 
This program is sponsored by the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA) and produced by the Multijurisdictional Counterdrug Task Force Training Program (MCTFT),  a division of the Center for Public Safety Innovation at St. Petersburg College in St. Petersburg, Florida.  
 
 Availability:  These programs are available via satellite over C band and the DOD/DETN satellite networks, private network carriers and selected community cable access stations. They are also available as an on-demand webcast via the internet for those without satellite access.  Only one point-of-contact need register for each viewing location. Final satellite coordinates and webcast links will be provided to all registered site co-ordinators 3-5 days prior to the broadcast date.
 
Click Here To Register For This Free Program 
 
 
 
 Also, Don’t Forget:
September 29th 2011:  CADCA’s  “Coalition Fundamentals”
A preliminary description….

Monday, September 26, 2011

Become a Family Day STAR!

I commit to:

S- Spend time with my kids by having dinner together

T- Talk to them about their friends, interests and the dangers of drugs and alcohol

A- Answer their questions and listen to what they say

R- Recognize that I have the power to help keep my kids substance free!

Visit www.casafamilyday.org to add your name to the thousands of parents committing to be STARS this Family Day and all year round. You can also pick up your own Family Day kit to get you started on a new way to “do family dinner.”

A great time was had by our mentors, mentees, and families at the Kingman Street Klassic in July! Many thanks to all who helped out, with special thanks going to Lisa Thibault, Roger Bushey, our WM advisory committee members and supermentors.

A big thank you to Kathy Manahan and the annual Kingman Street Klassic Car Show for supporting Caring Communities and Watershed Mentoring!  We appreciate it.

Check our calendar for fun events for mentors, mentees, and families coming up, and friend Watershed Mentoring on facebook for more updates.