Youth Community Coalition (YC2)

New Website!

2010-02-22T15:03:00.002-06:00

Thank you for visiting the YC2 Blog. Please continue to our new webiste: http://www.yc2.org/ for up to date information and blog posts.

A Rockin New Year

2010-01-04T09:15:00.001-06:00

Five youth bands from around Columbia waved goodbye to 2009 and gave a musical welcome to 2010. The bands had 1 hour to play their songs while their fans cheered and sported their glow necklaces. This was all a part of "First Night Columbia" which is an event designed to provide alcohol free activities for families to participate in on New Years Eve. It was a great time and the bands rocked!

YC2 was able to help sponsor this event. It is a great opportunity to give teens a way to showcase their talents and be involved in something positive. Keep an eye out for future events like this.

First Night Columbia

2009-12-22T14:52:00.000-06:00

Looking for something to do on New Years? Check out First Night! This is a city-wide celebration that offers a lot of entertainment and has something for the whole family. Check out their website for more info: http://firstnightcolumbia.org/

Stuff To Do In Early 2010

2009-12-22T11:15:00.002-06:00

Check out the some upcoming programs and events sponsored by the Parks and Rec Department. Lots of fun activities for teens and families. Click on the link to check it out and see how to sign up.

Parks & Rec Leisure Times Magazine

Save the Date!

2009-12-21T11:36:00.001-06:00

Our friends @ MYAA(Missouri Youth Adult Alliance) are hosting their annual Speak Hard Youth Advocacy Event on March 17th in Jefferson City.

Workshop Topics Include:

Alcohol advocacy, leadership, rx/otc information & more. Please start recruiting youth and adult chaperones. More details to come!
573.635.6669
aozenberger@actmissouri.org
http://www.myaa.org/

Love and Support: The Family Foundation

2009-12-11T11:19:00.004-06:00

You can show the children in your family that you love and support them in many ways. When you hug them or say, “I love you,” the sentiment is obvious. Paying attention to them, listening to them, and taking an interest in what they’re doing are less noticeable ways of giving support. After all, does your child feel supported when you come home from an exhausting day, and he or she wants to talk—but you want a break? The young people closest to you know your body language. They listen to what you say—and don’t say. They notice when your words and actions don’t match. Make it a point to be sure they hear your message of love and support loud and clear at all times. Family Support is Asset 1 of Search Institute’s 40 Developmental Assets, the qualities, experiences, and relationships that help young people grow up healthy, caring, and responsible.

Here are the Facts

Research shows that young people are more likely to grow up healthy when their families provide them with high levels of love and support. It’s important for parents and guardians to create a home environment that fosters loving words and actions, consistency, and openness. About 68 percent of young people, ages 11–18, say their family life provides high levels of love and support, according to Search Institute surveys. Spending quality time together is the first—and most important—step toward establishing a great family support system.

Tips for Building This Asset

Be consistent. Be loving. Develop openness so that the children in your family know that you’re available and you’ll love them—no matter what. If you’re exhausted or angry, say so. Tell children what you’re feeling so that your body language and words are consistent. Inconsistent messages are often misinterpreted by youth to mean that they have done something wrong.
Also try this:

In your home and family: Spend one hour a week alone with each of your children. Take a walk, listen to music, cook together, or just hang out.

In your neighborhood and community: Try to arrange a babysitting swap with a neighbor. It’s important for parents and guardians to have time away from children, doing things they enjoy alone and with other adults. This will make family time that much sweeter.

In your school or youth program: Assign students and participants activities that encourage family sharing. For example, one Minnesota class studying a Native American tribe learned that tribal members passed down stories from one generation to the next. The teacher assigned students to ask their parents for family stories to share with the class.

Want to know more about the 40 Developmental Assets and ideas for helping young people build them? Visit www.search-institute.org/assets.

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Developmental Assets® are positive factors within young people, families, communities, schools, and other settings that research has found to be important in promoting the healthy development of young people. From Instant Assets: 52 Short and Simple E-Mails for Sharing the Asset Message. Copyright © 2007 by Search Institute®, 877-240-7251; www.search-institute.org. This message may be reproduced for educational, noncommercial uses only (with this copyright line). All rights reserved.

Hoping to Intervene

2009-11-24T12:02:00.000-06:00

The Partnership for a Drug Free America recently launched an initiative to to unite parents, professionals, and community members. It's a blog called Intervene. Check it out and hear stories about dealing with substance abuse and how it affects those closest to you.

U Matter in Columbia

2009-11-18T16:28:00.002-06:00

In October, YC2 hosted the 1st annual UMatter Conference. Speakers from Reach Communications were able to go to over 11 schools as they spoke with youth about making healthy choices and having a positive attitude. Through many laughs and even tears, students enjoyed the experience and shared their stories about how they had been impacted by negative circumstances in their lives. The message behind the conference was that the past doesn't have to determine the future and that every day we can choose to make positive choices.

It was truly an amazing experience and is almost hard to summarize, but here is a brief video of one of the perfromers from last year to give an idea.

Columbia Youth Make a Difference

2009-10-26T15:05:00.002-05:00

On October 17th, over 120 youth and adult volunteers came together to celebrate Columbia's Youth Service Day 2009. Youth served at 8 different work sites around central Columbia to serve people and places in need.

According to research, there are 5 promises that youth need to succeed. One of those is the opportunity to help others. Hopefully this event and others like it will empower youth to make healthy choices as they take a positive interest in the community around them.

What Does the Media Say to You?

2009-09-24T13:30:00.004-05:00

Have you ever thought about all the messages we hear and see each day? How many of those messages are targeted toward adults? How many toward youth?

Research shows that an average student is connected to technology 6 hours each day. That would include cell phones, Internet, radio, TV, and more. When we think about the messages we see, we should think critically about what is entering our minds. The Center for Media Literacy published these 5 questions to keep in mind when processing media.

1. Who created this message?
2. What creative techniques are used to attract my attention?
3. How might different people understand this message differently?
4. What values, lifestyles and points of view are represented in, or omitted from, this message?
5. Why is this message being sent?

The next time you watch TV or cruise your cell phone for news updates, ask yourself these questions and see what you learn about the media messages you encounter each day.

The Hidden Epidemic of Youth

2009-09-24T13:18:00.002-05:00

Check out this recent article posted in Good Housekeeping with some surpising stories about underage drinking. See story below and more...

"By age 12, Mary was drinking most weekends, experimenting to see how much she could hold, sometimes blacking out. By 14, she was drinking every day with friends, getting the booze from the oldest of her three brothers or from kids whose parents looked the other way. Her father, busy making a living and trying to keep the household running, didn't notice. "I got to be an expert at acting sober in front of my father," Mary says now. "And I made sure I didn't let him smell the alcohol on my breath." By 15, she was taking vodka to school in Gatorade bottles. "I couldn't go to class without being drunk," Mary says. "I have no idea how I did any schoolwork, but I got decent grades. I was always amazed that the teachers didn't know I was drunk."

A Healthy Start for Columbia Youth

2009-08-21T08:33:00.010-05:00

Last week Yc2 attended a Back to School Health Fair at Calvary Baptist Church. The event was designed to give students and parents the things they need to prepare for a successful school year. Students received school supplies, health screenings, haircuts, and got to connect with community organizations. Yc2 was there to promote a healthy and drug free lifestyle and encourage parents to talk with their children about the harmful affects of drugs and alcohol on youth. We also spoke with nearly every parents about the Five Promises kids need as well as the 40 Developmental Assets. We also coordinated the musical talent which was awesome. We had two student bands perform and they did a great job.

Overall, this was a great chance to connect with the community and encourage students and parents to be drug free. Here are some pictures from our time there...

Love and Basketball Challenge is a Success!!!

2009-08-11T12:30:00.003-05:00

This past weekend Yc2 helped sponser the 2nd annual Love and Basketball Challenge. We had a great showing of teams and lots of exciting games. Here is a slideshow of the event produced by the Columbia Missourian.

http://www.columbiamissourian.com/multimedia/slideshow/2009/08/10/love-and-basketball/

Law Enforcement Focuses on Alcohol

2009-08-03T13:56:00.003-05:00

This article was published over the weekend and highlights the effort by local law enforcement to confront underage drinking in the downtown area. Share your reactions, thoughts, and ideas about this.

http://www.columbiatribune.com/news/2009/aug/02/proactive-police/

Love and Basketball

2009-07-15T13:00:00.005-05:00

Join us on August 7 & 8th as we host our 2nd annual Love and Basketball Challenge. This event is designed to promote a healthy lifestyle and responsible choices. It's open to teens ages 13-17. Boys and Girls welcome. Check out this flier for more info. If you are interested in participating you can email Ryan.

This event it produced in partnership with Columbia Parks and Recreation, The Boone Electric Community Trust and the First Ward Ambassadors, Columbia/Boone County Dept. of Public Health and Human Services, Urban Empowerment, United Community Cathedral, Boone County Community Partnership and Center for Adolescent Sexuality, Pregnancy and Parenting.

Success for Students

2009-07-09T09:32:00.004-05:00

What is the secret behind students staying in school and graduating ready for success? Interesting courses? GPA? A new CDC study shows that unwavering support of teachers and community members is a primary contributor to students' outcomes. At a June 23 Congressional briefing hosted by Search Institute and the National Collaboration for Youth, researchers and educators shared their insight on how to create these essential connections and their lasting impact on students. read more.

Newsletters

2009-07-07T09:08:00.002-05:00

To keep everyone up to date on Yc2, we will be releasing a newsletter every two months with some info about what is going on with the coalition. Check out our June/July edition.

Go Skateboarding Day

2009-06-24T09:48:00.007-05:00

On Saturday, June 20th YC2 participated in a city wide skateboarding day for Columbia's youth. The main thrust of the event was to encourage youth to make positive choices and to especially make good choices in skatepark safety. The Tiger Pilot club was there handing out free helmets to the skaters and Parkside Skateshop helped coordinate competitions and games for the kids. Yc2 members sold popcorn and snow cones and helped distribute pizza. This was a lot of fun and a great chance to hang out with some of Columbia's finest youth. Thanks Columbia Parks and Rec for organizing all the details!

Welcome to the Youth Community Coalition Blog!

2009-06-16T08:31:00.003-05:00

The Youth Community Coalition(Yc2) is a an organization in Columbia, MO that seeks to have a safe, healthy, and drug-free community. We do this by partnering with organizations and individuals from all across Columbia to join together to work for the good of the youth in our city. This blog will highlight the things we have going on as a coalition, ways to get involved, and resources for youth and parents.