Youth Leadership Completed 13th year

Youth Leadership Venture Grants Announced

Fourth Annual Benefit Concert Raises Funds for Sick Child

Youth Leaders Assist in Food Drive

Valley United Way’s Youth Leadership Program has completed its 13^th year with the announcement of the annual venture grants for programs designed to meet the needs of area teens. The Program’s primary purpose is to provide a vehicle by which the Valley’s future community leaders and volunteers are trained and developed. Since the inception of the Program, over 270 teens have participated. This year the Program’s membership consisted of twenty-one high school students from public and private schools in the Valley. The high schools represented this year are Ansonia, Derby, Emmett O’Brien RVTS, Notre Dame of Fairfield, Joseph School - Trumbull, and Shelton. During the course of the year, members were put through a series of activities that helped them develop skills related to team building, problem solving and decision making, organizational and personal skills, as well as self esteem and self confidence.

On Thursday, March 21^st the 13^th Annual Member/Parent Reception (Click here to see photos) was held at the Valley United Way in Ansonia. This was an occasion for the incoming members and their parents to have a full understanding the Program and the events of the upcoming year. Since many of the members did not know each other, the reception was great opportunity to first meet other members and the staff at Valley United Way’s. Jack Walsh, Executive Director of Valley United Way, discussed the origins of the Program and how it has evolved in the last twelve years since its inception. Lisa Shappy, Director and Advisor for the Youth Leadership program at th4e time gave an overview of this year’s timeline.

Following the event, the members attended a weekend Teambuilding Retreat at Camp Jewell in Colebrook, Connecticut. Click here to learn more and see a photo album from the weekend.

Later in the year, the program had a major change when Shappy left Valley United Way to become the Executive Director of the United Way of Naugatuck & Beacon Falls. Shortly thereafter, Joy DeMarchis joined Valley United Way as the new Director of the Volunteer Action Center and the Youth Leadership Program. She guided the program through a very successful benefit concert staged by the students and the completion of the Youth Leadership Grant Program.