The process of Engaging Adults is one of the five action strategies Search Institute promotes as a step towards transforming communities on behalf of children and youth. Awareness events can start this process but what comes next? In this issue you will have a chance to learn about strategies community initiatives are using to continue reaching out to adults. You will also see examples of what sustained adult engagement looks like. Let us know what you think in our brief survey at the end of this issue, and watch for our next issue, focusing on another action strategy, Mobilizing Young People.
Asset Champions
“When I think about Asset Champions, I think about superheroes,” observed St. Louis Park high school senior Laura at an Asset Champion meeting in her community. “We should have someone dress up as a superhero and talk about what it is to be an Asset Champion.” This is how it came about that the mayor of St. Louis Park found himself dressed as a superhero in a red cape and mask along with his side kick, Children First co-chair and high school senior Erica, talking for the launch of Children First’s new Asset Champions Network last January.
Read the rest of this article…
Community Maker Kelly Noftz: Creating positive waves throughout Almaden
You never really know the ripple of influence your actions have on the world around you until a group of your biggest fans is asked to tell a story that sums up the 
kind of person you are. It is then that you see the wave you created crash to the shore, to the delight of those close enough to see its surge and hear its roar.
You never really know the ripple of influence your actions have on the world around you until a group of your biggest fans is asked to tell a story that sums up the kind of person you are. It is then that you see the wave you created crash to the shore, to the delight of those close enough to see its surge and hear its roar.
While most of us create a ripple tame enough for young children to frolic in, Almaden’s Kelly Noftz creates the kind of wave that beckons Maverick surfers worldwide and leaves homeowners scurrying for sandbags.
Read the rest of this article…
Take a Second. Make a Difference
Four years ago Hudson, Ohio’s Community First, an initiative working toward drug and alcohol prevention with teens, had become mostly dormant. But in the three years since a group of philanthropic businessmen decided to help re-invigorate the initiative, Community First has become a highly visible organization in Hudson. Co-coordinator Laura Gasbarro estimates that nearly everyone in the town of roughly 22,500 knows what Community First is and most know what the Developmental Assets are. The work that she and fellow co-coordinator Cheryl Rauch have done, says Gasbarro, is all based around an action plan that seeks to engage the many facets of community in Hudson.
Read the rest of this article…
Check out the full page advertisement for the Take a Second. Make a Difference campaign
Click here for the letter to the editor published in Hudson’s local newspaper
Connect 5: Finding the Caring Adults (You May Not Realize) Your Teen Needs
The following are a few excerpts from Connect 5, a Search Institute publication written by Kathleen Kimball-Baker in 2004. 
Other Caring Adults
Small Business Owners
The people who run or work at the local deli, coffee shop, bookshop, video or hardware store, pharmacy or gas station, can be important assets to any community- and potentially friends to your teen. Tom Garrison, a graduate student in broadcasting in Lincoln, Nebraska, grew up in a small town. When his parents had to work late, they’d give him and his sister some money to eat at the local, small-town café. His dad knew Brenda, the manager, and the two had conspired (unbeknownst to Tom) to make sure the siblings ate a healthy meal. Read the rest of this article…
Activities to Try
Put on a “Seniors” Prom
Do you have a knack for planning entertaining get-togethers or organizing events? Consider working with your teen and his or her high school or congregation to put on a dance that brings together senior citizens and senior high school students. Student council, parent-teacher associations, and youth groups are good places to start the ball rolling. Read the rest of this article…
Go to the Search Institute store for Connect 5: Finding the Caring Adults (You May Not Realize) Your Teen Needs.
