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1. BOAST YOUTH
VENTURE challenges young people to Dream it- to identify
opportunities, set goals, and define concrete plans of
action. Then BOAST Youth Venture helps young people Do it-
to realize those dreams. We can provide venturers with adult
allies who act as assistants only, lending support while
insuring that the young person remains in charge, taking
his/her own "Dream It" idea and shaping it into his/her very
own "Do It" project. We remove barriers of attitude and
logistics and can provide funds to help launch an idea. We
give young people a solid support network, within which they
make their own decisions and contributions. The results are
powerful as young people tell others about their experiences
and show their communities that they have the capacity to
make a difference. Local schools and youth organizations
have been contacted about this unique opportunity. Linda and
Leslie have spoken at several area schools to promote BOAST
Youth Venture. To receive a brochure contact
boast@valley.net. Click on the link to learn more about
BOAST Youth
Venture. To learn about Youth Venture as a national
organization visit http://www.youthventure.org.
2.BOAST Youth Venture is
pleased to announce the launch of its first team of
venturers. Alie Sandin, a senior at Hanover High School, and
her team created the Winter Reunion Project for the Summer
Enrichment at Dartmouth Program (SEAD). The reunion took
place February 27-March 1 in Hanover. Read more about Alie's
project in the section below on youth in the spotlight. Last
fall BOAST partnered with Youth Venture, a national
organization with the mission of offering young people
across the country the transforming experience of taking
responsibility for their lives and communities by creating
and leading sustainable organizations, clubs, or
businesses.
3. BOAST is thrilled to have had
Schweitzer fellow Jessica Durkis work with us on our BOAST
Youth Venture program. Jessica is a second year Vermont Law
School student with an impressive community service
background. Jessica has spent the second part of her
fellowship contacting local schools to determine appropriate
ways to tie BOAST Youth Venture to existing community
service requirements or independent study opportunities.
Each year, the The Albert Schweitzer Fellowship
Programs® selects nearly 150 students from Baltimore,
Boston, Chicago, New Hampshire/Vermont, North Carolina, and
Pittsburgh to serve as Schweitzer Fellows.The year-long
fellowships are granted to graduate students in
health-related fields who provide community service projects
for underserved populations in their local areas. The New
Hampshire-Vermont Schweitzer Fellows Program, entering its
sixth year, is rooted in Dr. Schweitzer's belief that there
is a vast, untapped reservoir of idealism in our
communities; this idealism, nurtured and provided with
specific opportunities for action, can become a powerful
resource in helping underserved communities improve their
health.
4. Last fall BOAST created
Youth and the Law , a resource handbook designed
by youth and police in the towns of Hanover/Norwich as well
as Dartmouth College's Department of Safety and Security.
The booklet has been distributed to teens in Hanover,
Norwich and Lebanon and also made available to other
communities for free. The Youth and Law resource can also be
viewed on the BOAST Web site. Any changes in the law will be
updated on the Web version. Teens are encouraged to write
BOAST if they have a question about the law in their town or
state. We will research it and post the answer on the BOAST
web site.
Last year, teens in our community identified
the need to improve the relationship between youth and local
law enforcement. The Youth and the Law booklet serves
two purposes:
1) Improve the relationship between youth and
local law enforcement.
2) Improve teens' understanding of local,
state and federal laws so that they
can make informed decisions about what they should and
shouldn't do.
The booklet is divided up into several
sections: Rights and Responsibilities, Getting Around Town
and Know the Law. Within each section there are
subcategories related to the topic. For instance under the
Getting Around Town section there is information on rules
regarding driving and skateboarding along with teens'
frequently asked questions.
Copies of the booklet were distributed free to
middle and high school students in Hanover, Norwich and
Lebanon. They were also sent to all taxpayers in Hanover and
placed in strategic places around Norwich and the Upper
Valley. To view a web version of the booklet click HERE.
5. BOAST is seeking more organizations
and businesses to include youth volunteer opportunities on
its community service Web site. If you know of any group
that is looking for youth volunteers encourage them to sign
up on line or to contact Leslie Williamson at
boast@valley.net. The community service Web site designed
for youth ages 5-18 can be accessed by clicking HERE.
6. This issue's youth in the
spotlight highlights BOAST Youth Venturer's first venturer,
Alie Sandin. Alie, a senior at Hanover High School, and her
team created the Winter Reunion Project for the Summer
Enrichment at Dartmouth Program (SEAD). The reunion took
place February 27-March 1 in Hanover."Summer Enrichment at
Dartmouth Program (SEAD)" provides a unique opportunity for
mutual enrichment between Dartmouth students and culturally
diverse high school students from exceedingly
under-resourced schools. Co-sponsored with Dartmouth
College's Tucker Foundation and the Education Department,
SEAD brings to the Dartmouth campus talented students with
demonstrated financial need. These students from South
Boston, urban Philadelphia and Canaan, NH attend SEAD for
two weeks of academic and recreational enrichment designed
to expand their sense of possibility and nurture a desire to
further their education beyond high school. The teens come
for three summers, with the third year (before senior year)
providing special emphasis toward guiding them through the
college admission process and weathering the transitions
that are required for success in college. This program is
provided entirely free of any cost to the visiting students
or their families.
Last summer Alie participated as a local tutor
for the SEAD 1 program. Her idea to create a reunion for
these students was encouraged by her teacher and SEAD Master
Teacher, Donna Strange. Alie's goal for the SEAD 1 Reunion
project is to provide a sustainable venture by which other
Hanover High School students can continue to offer this
reunion experience for future SEAD participants. Alie and
her team have worked hard to organize the entire weekend:
providing transportation to Hanover for participating SEAD
students, housing and meals for the students, as well as all
the activities.
Youth Venture is a national organization with
the mission of offering young people across the country the
transforming experience of taking responsibility for their
lives and communities by creating and leading sustainable
organizations, clubs, or businesses.
BOAST is serving as the local partner and is
providing the essential organizational framework and
leadership for the Youth Venture program to take root in the
Upper Valley. BOAST brings to the partnership the asset
building model of youth development. BOAST seeks to build
developmental assets in all youth so that they have what
they need in their lives to grow up healthy, resilient and
caring members of their community.
Together BOAST and Youth Venture are investing
in young people as changemakers &endash; proving to
themselves and others that young people are capable,
committed leaders.
The William Jewett Tucker Foundation was
founded in 1951 by Dartmouth President John Sloan Dickey,
who believed that education should carefully encourage
"conscience as the necessary companion to competence". The
Tucker Foundation prides itself on being "the heart an soul
of Dartmouth College." The Mission of the Foundation is to
further the moral and spiritual work and influence of
Dartmouth College. Learn more at: http://www.dartmouth.edu/~tucker.
7. BOAST has created
a donor advised fund with the Upper Valley Community
Foundation. The fund serves three purposes: to provide funds
for the BOAST-Youth Venture program, the BOAST mini grant
program and the youth philanthropy program (still being
developed). Read more about the BOAST
YOUTH FUND.
8. To
access interesting articles scroll down. To read past
newsletters click HERE.
Youth Community Service
Network
Thanks to grants from the Mascoma Savings Bank
Foundation, Upper Valley Community Foundation and the United
Way Emerging Needs Program BOAST's (Building Our Assets for
a Safer Tomorrow) interactive community service Web site for
youth has been established and continues to grow. BOAST
believes that one reason for low youth involvement in
community service is that kids are unaware of the ways in
which they can make a difference. In order to inform them of
the available options, BOAST has compiled a directory of
local community service, volunteer, and fund raising
opportunities for youth. The directory includes a list of
places that offer youth volunteer positions, as well as
information about what each volunteer job entails, what age
groups of children are eligible, whom the kids should
contact, etc..
Research shows that it is not only the
community's involvement in the child that affects his or her
growth, but also the child's involvement in the community.
Community service improves kids' leadership and
problem-solving skills, as well as, their confidence and
overall sense of well-being. It also fosters an atmosphere
of cooperation and kinship between young people and other
members of a community. Unfortunately, many kids miss these
benefits, because of low youth participation in community
activities. This is caused by a lack of initiative on the
kids' part, and little effort made by adults to involve
youths in such activities.
In a recent survey taken by Upper Valley
teens, 48% of our youth reported that they served in their
community for one or more hours/week, but only 39% felt they
were "given useful community roles;" and a mere 22% reported
that their "community values youth." The United Way of the
Upper Valley cites declining volunteer rates as a possible
factor for youths' lack of life skills, and their engagement
in risk-taking behaviors such as drug and alcohol use.
If you are an organization who would like to
list a service opportunity, contact BOAST by phone at
643-2440 or by email at boast@valley.net. Access the online
data form through BOAST's Web site: www.boastonline.org.
BOAST Goals for
2002-03
*Promote BOAST
Youth Venture in the Upper Valley.
*Distribute and promote the Youth
and the Law booklet. You can access the booklet online
by the end of September!
*Continue to spread the asset building message
focusing on increasing opportunities to find ways for
community to value youth.
*Utilize local youth in this effort.
*Continue publicizing and updating the
Upper Valley Youth Community
Service Network.
March, 2003
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