Members relax after completing their allocations review process.

Members of the Youth Leadership Program completed another successful year with the announcement of their venture grants to community organizations in the Valley area. Each year these grants are given to local organizations to help fund new and/or expanding programs that meet the needs of Valley teens. During the month of December and January, students actively assessed the needs of teens, sought proposals from community organizations and conducted in depth interviews with local agency representatives about the programs. The following were identified as areas of critical concern to Valley Youth: On-line Predators; Teen Sex; Gambling; Stress; Alcohol and Drugs and Smoking.

A total of $2,500 was available to allocate to programs this year. This marks the first year that the Youth Leaders raised part of their allocation dollars to give away. Funds were raised through a very successful car wash that was supported and held at Derby McDonald’s. McDonald’s owner Joey Rodriquez was extremely supportive.

Youth Leadership members approved the following programs to receive venture grant funding:

• Valley Substance Abuse Action Council was awarded $250 to assist in the support of a program that would help educate young adults and their parents on the responsible use of alcohol, the effects of alcohol, and the consequences of alcohol poisoning. This is an innovative awareness raising campaign.

 
• Derby Public Library was awarded $125 to provide a series of workshops focusing on ways to empower teens to deal with stress. A variety of area professionals will visit the library, including a medical doctor, nutritionist, yoga instructor, mediation therapist and social worker/psychologist to offer teens a variety of ways to deal with stress in their everyday lives.

• Seymour High School “Take a Stand Day!” was awarded $1,000 to assist a day long presentation for the SHS Junior Class. The program creates awareness about the responsibility of driving and the consequences when mixing drugs/alcohol and driving. Students participate in group lectures, discussions, hands-on activities with several outside agencies and witness mock mass casualty multi-vehicle extrications. The program is an invaluable experience that leaves a positive long lasting impression on all participants creating awareness and having the opportunity to learn from the unfortunate experience of others.

• Derby Neck Library was awarded $125 to assist in the creation of a program that will provide local teens with a place to meet and interact while providing a physical outlet for their energy and creativity with the Dance Dance revolution and Karaoke teens will become involved with exercise. Studies show that not only are today’s teens too inactive, but that music and exercise are healthy ways to relieve stress. It has been shown that not all teens are interested in sports and dancing and singing can provide another activity to help boost esteem and self confidence.

• The Umbrella was awarded $1,000 to support the creation of a small 10 page booklet on dating violence that will be given to students participating in Umbrella’s dating violence program, Choose Respect. The booklet will contain information about relationship abuse, safety planning, how abuse begins, education about dating relationships and breaking up, why does abuse happen and prevention. The project will include middle school students in the process.
 

Since 1990, when the program first began distributing grants, Valley United Way’s Youth Leadership members have distributed nearly $50,000 in funding to the community for new and innovative programs. Individual grants are generally $1,000 or less.