 |
|||
    |
|||
|
Columbus/Muscogee
County Selected Among the 100 Best Communities for Young People
Columbus/Muscogee County was recognized in part because of a variety of partnerships stemming from the Muscogee County School District's Partners in Education program with the Columbus Chamber of Commerce. 100 Best showcases cities and communities from 38 states across the country that tackle challenges and demonstrate innovative efforts to deliver the Five Promises that young people need to succeed—caring adults, safe places, a healthy start, an effective education, and opportunities to help others. The 100 Best also demonstrate a commitment to engaging committed partners and individuals from all sectors, work to raise awareness of young people's needs using relevant data, and drive people to act and advocate to make children a top priority. More than 750 communities from all 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands, entered the 2007 competition. "Nothing is more important than seeing that our children and youth have the resources and support systems they need to thrive and succeed," said America's Promise Founding chair, General Colin L. Powell, USA (Ret.). "When a community provides all that its young people need to be healthy and secure, they deserve to be honored and showcased as an outstanding example of what it takes to successfully nurture this nation's youth." A complete
list of the 2007 100 Best communities is available at www.americaspromise.org. What is new is that coordinators are now going the extra step to add their surveys to their collaborative Web sites. "We use our collaborative Web site to share our publications, so it just made sense that we'd post our community assessment surveys too, said Leata Gleaton, Clay County Family Connection coordinator. "In addition to promoting our collaborative because people can read about our news while they're on our Web site, posting community assessment surveys saves us money because we don't have to distribute as many." Catherine Kostilnik from the Center for Community Studies at LaGrange Collage agrees. "Since we've offered electronic surveys to the Family Connection collaboratives we support, we've reduced the amount of paper we use to the point that we've eliminated several file cabinets in our office. Electronic surveys also reduce time. Our staff doesn't have to manually key in the data, and the end user simply clicks to reply." Another benefit is that electronic surveys are youth friendly. Catherine pointed out that in one of the counties she supports, youth access the survey from the computer labs at school. "It's convenient because they're already there, and kids love computers, so completing the survey is less intimidating." According to Catherine, coordinators in rural and other counties without wide-spread access to the Internet use a combination of electronic and print surveys. "Even if just a few people use the electronic surveys, it's a cost savings," she said. To learn more about electronic surveys, contact your Family Connection evaluator. To learn how to use Collaborative Webs to promote your electronic surveys, attend Leata Gleaton's Collaborative Webs workshop at the 2007 Family Connection Conference titled "Quick Start Guide to Collaborative Webs."
"This will be the first approach of its kind to bring about change in the youth and young adults in this county," said Kevin Brown, coordinator of the Marion County Family Connection. "If successful, this program will decrease juvenile delinquency and negative contacts with law enforcement, reduce drug use, increase high-school completion rates, increase the number of students attending post-secondary education institutions—not penal institutions), and make better citizens." The MMB program will work with three different age groups—6 to 12, 13 to 18 (in school), and 16 to 29 (out of school)—the program's primary target group. Participants are required to attend a workshop prior to each game. Topics will include interviewing skills, dressing for success, completing a resume/job application, prevention (alcohol, drugs, etc.), parenting, high school or GED completion, and college (vocational/traditional four-year) enrollment. Players who do not attend a workshop will not be allowed to play in that night's game. Brown put together the support team that presented the MMB program to the United Way Evaluation Team. The support team consisted of Officer Daryl Neal, DARE officer/deputy sheriff; Officer Wendell Faulk, assistant chief of Buena Vista PD; business owner Ralph Blue; Mayor Ralph Brown, Jr.; BOE staff member Larry Bryant; County Commissioner George Neal, Jr.; and Dexter Holloman, a potential MMB participant. Said Brown, "It's amazing what can happen through the sport of basketball."
The group participated in workshops including Retooling your Newsletter, led by Laurie Searle of Public Affairs and Policy; and Attitudes, Habits and Characteristics of Effective Coordinators led by statewide community facilitator John Bringuel. Using the book Now Discover Your Strengths, Berry led group members as they explored ways to work within their strengths to improve job performance, to function better as a region, and to relate that work to strengthening the work of the collaborative. "The
use of strengths will be the theme as the region plans the annual
Parent Engagement Day and the Annual Youth Rally," said Berry. |
||
|
|
|||
Pictured
from left: Emmett Moore of Chattahoochee County; Cindy Barley of
Webster County; John Winchester of Harris County; Megan Holt of
Stewart County; John Greene of Schley County; Kuanita Murphy of
Randolph County; Leata Gleaton of Clay County; Sara Lee Crumbs of
Quitman County; Kevin Brown of Marion County; April Smith, Region
8 family advisor; Annetta Berry, Region 8 community facilitator;
Rachael Oliver of Macon County; Kathy Garwood of Crisp ; Valecia
Sales of Dooly County; and Angela Westra of Sumter County. Missing
from picture: Nancy Peacock of Taylor County; Dot Bass of Talbot
County; and Junie Christian of Muscogee County