Power of One (Part III)

Power of One (Part III)

EDU 635 Community & Youth Development

Your initial assessment – Appraise the “State of Now.”

Upon evaluating how adults and children function as a unit in my community, my findings were that there is little to no partnership. Working with the youth can have short and long term benefits for the adults that take the time to do so in the community. Desiring to bring children and adults together in a positive manner, I constructed a project and set goals for my community that I wanted to execute and see transpire in the community. So, the goal was to ensure that each child was provided multiple opportunities where they can be given the opportunity to demonstrate their talents and what they can do and how they are also an asset in the community.

Forming a committee of leaders in the community was a must to contribute to the success of my project. These leaders consisted of service providers, public officials, teacher, doctors, lawyers and etc. With this committee with a “willing heart,” we were able to kick start the program. The primary focus is to afford each child with skills and resources in constructing practices that will encourage and inspire them to be improved and diverse people. Hynes, Greene, & Constance states that, “youth are attracted to real programs that concentrates on real work skills through hands on learning (Hynes, Greene, & Constance, 2012). This is why my plan is to make certain that many service-learning experiences are available. These experiences provide students the opportunity to work directly with adults and profit different advantages while doing so.

Illustrate indicators of success – Describe what are you hoping to achieve in measurable, data-driven outcomes.

My goal is to create or develop a community where all children are appreciated and recognized; with the understanding that they are the future community and will soon model what they see. I desire to get as my children and adults in the community to rally together and become more involved. I am wanting to establish an active partnership with organizations where the students will be able to communicate and work with adults; by providing them the opportunity to utilize their decision making skills. My goal is to gain 60% percent participation and support of the community. I also would like to start with a minimum of 10 students who would participate in recruiting other youth and contribute in service learning activities. Lastly, I would like to have three to six organizations that are willing to labor with these children in aiding them with service educational learning involvements.

Illustrate how you will evaluate and report your outcomes – Identify how you will celebrate your successes.

Making a sign in sheet available will help me to keep track of those students that are participating and also keep track of the amount of hours and days that are actively participating. During these service learning days, pictures will be taken of the participants and display the pictures to show those students that are involved; in hopes of encouraging other youth to participate and to also show the adults that there are youth that are doing positive things in the community.

When adults show interest in a child and are genuine concern about them, positive relationships and developed. This development includes higher academic achievement, self-esteem building, greater social skills and mental health (Scales, Benson, Roehlkepartain, Hintz, Sullivan, & Mannes, 2001). After working with the students for a period of time, you will be able to see those who have made gains in their building skills from the program. To celebrate the accomplishments, I will have a community festival for everyone in the community and celebrate those students openly at that time. During this time everyone has the opportunity to socialize, share ideas and just have a relaxing time.

Specifies your plan for growing and sustaining your initiative.

Providing a positive and operative partnership will permit my initiative to remain growing. This initiative is to continue to focus on the youth in the community. In order to maintain this consistency, I must continue to allow the youth to share their ideas of what type of service learning and building projects that interests them. Allowing them to have a say in the program will have a long lasting effect on if the initiative is beneficial in the community. The primary focus is the youth. Fisher states, “working in partnership allows you to focus on environment improvement in which youth live.” (Fisher, 2008)

References

Fisher, D. (2008). Quick-start guide to building assets in your prevention program. Minneapolis, MN: Retrieved from the Ashford University Library Ebook Collection

Hynes, K., Greene, K.M., & Constance, N. (2012). Helping Youth Prepare for Careers: What Can out-of School time Programs Do?

Scales, P.C.,Benson, P.L., Roehlkepartain, EC., Hintz, N.R., Sulllivan, T.K., & Mannes, M. (2001). The role of neighborhood and community in building development assets for children and youth: A national study of social norms among American Adults. Journal of Community Pshycology.