Thursday, May 5, 2011

JEL Members Participate in Trainings and Fun




On Tuesday, April 26th Faith Murphy, Drew Nolting, Hannah Sprouse (JEL Members) and Melissa Daugherty attended the 26th annual Risky Business Conference. This one-day conference brought together adults and youth from Iowa and surrounding states to develop skills and increase knowledge of community youth development and the critical issues confronting youth and professionals who work with youth today. The general movement of the day advanced from competency-building and skill development in the morning to a more practical application of knowledge and skills in the afternoon sessions. The conference goals included promoting Community Youth Development, informing communities about the value of increasing developmental assets of youth, increasing awareness of major problems facing America's families and youth, examining new ways to intervene earlier in the lives of at-risk families and promoting partnerships between youth and adult.

On Wednesday, April 27th Carson Schuck, Cassie Johnson (JEL Members), Chuck Banks, Heidi Bainbridge and Tonja Jirak attended the Life of an Athlete Training. At this training they learned about helping athletes be the best that they can be. This was accomplished by examining the importance of a strong code of conduct; alcohol’s effects on student athletes and getting the support that you need to support a strong code. They also learned about what to do once the code is in place; how to promote, enforce and make the policy a living document. This training provided information on doing what is best for youth. The JEL members decided they wanted to take this one as a group initiative for the 2011-2012 school year.

Finally, on Saturday, May 30th the Van Buren JEL Members attended a Substance Abuse Free Day at Adventureland. 52 Van Buren County youth from both Harmony and Van Buren High School and six chaperones attended this event. This is the end of the year JEL event for all of the hard work and success they have accomplished during the school year. All enjoyed the beautiful day and fun to be had at the park!

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