Ceck this Out and Save the Date!

Here is a great way to thank those who have helped you become the person you are today. Mentor Day at Babb's January 23rd. I would like you to think about your mentor and bring the stories to Babb's on the 23rd to share with others. I would also encourage you to then use your skills and time to help others by becoming a mentor. The details about Mentor Day at Babb's are below.

Check out this website: www.whomentoredyou.org

This site is a place to share mentoring stories and celebrates all things having to do with mentors.

Have a great new year!!!!!

January is National Mentoring Month

January 23 is Metro Youth Partnership Mentor Day at Babb’s Coffee Houses, 604 Main Avenue and 1617 32 Avenue South, both in Fargo

Stop by during their regular hours of 7 a.m. – 8 p.m., check out information on becoming a mentor.

And, while you are there, order one of their delicious white chocolate mochas and a chocolate fudge bar……for each Babb’s will donate 50 cents to Metro Youth Partnership’s mentoring program.

I challenge you to move at least one of your meetings to Babb's on the 23rd of January. As Asset Champions, I would also encourage you to put your asset knowledge to work by becoming a mentor.

The Holidays

I hope that you all had great, safe, and happy holidays.

I had a great holiday and I even did some asset building. I took three of my little cousins sledging on Christmas Day. I think that I worked off Christmas dinner carrying the kids up the hill, it was my daily cardio.

Did you spend one-on-one time with young people?
Did you tell some one that you appreciate them and value your relationship?

Let me know what you are up to so that we can pass on your asset building activities on to the other champions.

Asset #1 is Family Support — Family life provides high levels of love and support

During these busy next few days of travel, food, and family; it is important to remember that the #1 asset is Family Support—Kids feel love and supported in their family.

Below are just a few things that can be done in this busy holiday season to show the kids in your family you support them. These suggestions are from the book What kids need to succeed.

• Give more hugs and verbal reinforcement. Don’t assume that you kids know how much you love them. Tell them.

• Let your love for your children show in the way you look at them, the words you say, your tone of voice, and your body language.

• It’s not true that all kids want their parents to stop hugging or kissing them once they become teenagers. Ask your children to tell you what feels comfortable for them, and respect their boundaries. This is important as your children get older.

• Eat at least one meal together every day. I have also heard the suggestion to have the children help plan and make the meals. There is great learning and teaching moments in all things that we do everyday.

• Set aside at least one evening per week for family activities. Brainstorm as a family things you might like to do, then agree on which ones to try. Be open to ideas from all family members, and willing to share your children’s interest. I know that Asset Champion Chris Barton, does this with her family. She even says that the idea of family game night is spreading through her neighborhood.

• Spend time with each of your children individually. If Jon and Kate Gosselin can do this with their 8 kids, you can do it too!!! I challenge you to do this everyday by blocking out time in the morning or at night. Make sure to share your ideas with others by posting a comment on the blog.

• Talk with your kids about what would make your home more comfortable and inviting for them and their friends.

• BE YOUR CHILD'S BIGGEST FAN!!!!!!!!

Make sure to post and share holiday Asset building stories with us!!!

The Life section is all about Asset Building

The Forum-- Life section is all about Asset Building!

“Seven Ways to Simplify your Holidays”.

One of the suggestions is to “Give the Gift of Time” by spending time with a younger child as a gift for the holidays. The gift of time is something that will strengthen your relationship with the child and it is an asset building activity, too. This suggestion reinforces the importance of asset building and building relationships with younger children. Make sure to check out the whole article in the Forum today.

Save the Date--January 23rd

Hello Champions!!!

January is National Mentoring Month

January 23 is Metro Youth Partnership Mentor Day at Babb’s Coffee Houses, 604 Main Avenue and 1617 32 Avenue South, both in Fargo

Stop by during their regular hours of 7 a.m. – 8 p.m., check out information on becoming a mentor.

And, while you are there, order one of their delicious white chocolate mochas and a chocolate fudge bar……for each Babb’s will donate 50 cents to Metro Youth Partnership’s mentoring program.

I challenge you to move at least one of your meetings to Babb's on the 23rd of January. As Asset Champions, I would also encourage you to put your asset knowledge to work and become a mentor.

Assets In Action: Great Things Going On In Our Community!

It is nearly the end of November - it's amazing how time flies!

Here are a couple of updates from your Asset Champion Network Coordinators:

Upcoming Training Sessions:
★ Jan. 5 Mon. (6:30-8:30pm) @ Clay County Family Service Center in Moorhead for Clay County Childcare Providers
★ Jan. 7;14;21 Wed. + Feb. 4 Wed. (4:30-5:30pm) @ Olivet Lutheran Church in Fargo
★ Jan. 20 Tues. (8:30-10:30am) @ Probstfield Center for Education in Moorhead for Moorhead Early Childhood & Family Education
★ Jan. 28 Wed. (5-6pm) @ MSUM for Education 310 Course
★ Feb. 12;19;26 Thurs. (5-6pm) @ Probstfield Center for Education in Moorhead register through Moorhead Community Education

If you are interested in attending any of these training sessions, please email us at asset.champion.network (at) gmail (dot) com!

Other News:

• Asset Champion, Paul Laney, was recently profiled in the Forum for his work reading to students! Thank you, Sheriff Laney, for your excellent work as an asset builder in our community!

• Asset Champion, Jill Wenger, has been using asset-building techniques when developing programs for young people through Restorative Justice. Thank you for incorporating assets into our justice system!

Upcoming:

35 Days of Asset Building! A blogging mini-exploration will begin soon!

How to Build Assets on Halloween!

Happy Halloween, Asset Champions!!!

Halloween is darn near my favorite autumnal celebration. Why? Because where I grew up the evening of October 31st was always greeted by hordes of goblins, ghosts, princesses, and other delightfully costumed children running up and down the streets and alleys toting pillowcases laden with calorie-packed nuggets of chocolate and every other imaginable solid manifestation of sugar! How wonderful, right?

I admit that the piles and piles of empty-calories lugged home by young people of all ages on Halloween flies in the face of any and all reasonable lessons about nutrition and exercise, but I still love Halloween. In addition to filling the coffers of candy companies, Halloween offers a rare and socially acceptable alibi for going door to door and talking to one's neighbors.

Thus, Halloween is the perfect excuse to reconnect with one's neighborhood. I hesitate to suggest that we need an "excuse" to reconnect with our neighbors, but I do know (from my experience as a new resident in Moorhead) that it can be a bit intimidating to go knock on those doors. So, tonight, let's meet our neighbors and build our community by participating in one of my favorite pastimes of childhood: trick-or-treating!!!

Whether you're at the beck-and-call of the doorbell or out pounding the pavement with your kids (or your brother's kids, sister's kids, neighbor's kids, co-worker's kids, etc.) use this Halloween as an opportunity to meet your neighbors and build assets!

Jane Jacobs wrote that "eyes on the street" are a large part of what keeps neighborhood streets safe - so get out there tonight (or any other night!) and walk your local sidewalks, keep your "eyes" on the street and know that by doing so you are contirbuting to the safety of our community!

More information:
Jane Jacobs bio

Please share your asset building Halloween stories by adding your comments to this post!!!

Have a Happy and Safe Halloween!

Show Your Support for Metro Youth - Help Fill the Dome!

Last May when Metro Youth Partnership teamed up with organizations throughout our community to asses how many developmental assets young people in our community report, one of the most striking results was that only 25% of students in grades 6-12 perceive that adults in the community value youth.

Strikingly, 75% of 6-12 graders in Moorhead Public Schools, Park Christian School, St. Joseph Elementary School, Fargo Public Schools, Grace Lutheran School, Oak Grove Lutheran School, Fargo Catholic Schools Network, and West Fargo Public Schools don't feel that adults in the community value them as young people.

One great way to show support for local youth is to participate in youth-organized events such as the upcoming Fill the Dome event. Fill the Dome is a youth-led food drive and is a wonderful opportunity to show young people in Moorhead, Fargo, and West Fargo that adults in our community are supportive!

Things you can do today to support Fill the Dome:

1. Attend the Fill the Dome Press Conference this morning at the Fargo Dome. It's at 10:00am.
2. Have extra canned goods ready for "Trick-or-Canning" tomorrow, Halloween night!
3. Buy one or two non-perishable food items each time you visit the grocery store and plan to donate these items by November 24 when the Fargo Dome will be filled with donated food.
4. Watch for young people wearing Fill the Dome apparel and, when you see them, ask their name and let them know you support their cause!
5. Visit the Fill the Dome website to learn about other things you can do to help: http://www.fillthedome.org
   

Member Survey!

Hello Asset Champions,

Malin and I would like to thank you in advance for participating in this survey. The survey should take no more than 5 minuets to complete. We created this survey in lieu of the December Quarterly Gathering. As coordinators, we want to better understand what we can do for you to encourage your engagement with the Asset Champion Network. We will share the results of the survey with you in the coming months.

There are only ten questions and no demographic or personal information is required, so please share your thoughts!

Click here to take the Asset Champion Network Survey

Become a Member of the Asset Champion Network

• Would you enjoy connecting with like-minded people from across the Fargo Moorhead West Fargo area who are focusing on our youth?
• Do you get fired up when you think about the young people in our community and the possibilities that exist?
• Are you familiar with the developmental assets or would you like to become more familiar with them?
• Do you like thinking proactively about what your organization can do to build support in kids?
• Are you young, old or in between?

If you said YES, to any of these questions, you may want to represent your organization in the Asset Champions Network.

Here's how it works:

• All sorts of people in the Fargo, Moorhead, West Fargo community are part of it.
• Asset champions are adults and young people.
• Asset Champions are trained on the developmental assets and, in turn, train those in their organizations, communities, neighborhoods.
• Asset Champions literally champion asset building as they make decisions, set direction, plan activities and sponsor events.
• Asset Champions attend quarterly Network gatherings where they can connect with others in the community committed to the Asset Champions Network philosophy.
• Asset Champions connect between meetings through a virtual community - this blog.
• Organizations involved in the Network can decide to do things independently or with others to build assets in youth.

What Are the 40 Developmental Assets?

Support

• Family Support- Family life provides high levels of love and support.
• Positive family communication-Young person and her or his parent(s) communicate positively, and young person is willing to seek parent(s) advice and counsel.
• Other adult relationships- Young person receives support from three or more non-parent adults.
• Caring neighborhood- Young person experiences caring neighbors.
• Caring school climate- School provides a caring, encouraging environment.
• Parent involvement in schooling- Parent(s) are actively involved in helping a young person succeed in school.

Empowerment

• Community values youth-Young person perceives that adults in the community value youth.
• Youth as resources- Young people are given useful roles in the community.
• Service to others- Young person serves in the community one hour or more per week.
• Safety- Young person feels safe at home, school, and in the neighborhood.

Boundaries & Expectations

• Family boundaries- Family has clear rules and consequences, and monitors the young person's whereabouts.
• School boundaries- School provides clear rules and consequences.
• Neighborhood boundaries- Neighbors take responsibility for monitoring young peoples behavior.
• Adult role models- Parent(s) and other adults model positive, responsible behavior.
• Positive peer influence- Young person's best friends model responsible behavior.
• High expectations- Both parent(s) and teachers encourage the young person to do well.

Constructive Use of Time

• Creative activities- Young person spends three or more hours a week in lessons or practice in music, theatre, or other arts.
• Youth programs- Young person spends three or more hours per week in sports, clubs or organizations at school and/or in community organizations.
• Religious community- Young person spends one or more hours per week in activities in a religious institution.
• Time at home- Young person is out with friends "with nothing special to do," two or fewer nights per week.

Committment to Learning

• Achievement motivation- Young person is motivated to do well in school.
• School engagement- Young person is actively engaged in learning.
• Homework- Young person reports doing at least one hour of homework every school day.
• Bonding to school- Young person cares about her or his school.
• Reading for pleasure- Young person reads for pleasure three or more hours per week.

Positive Values

• Caring- Young person places high value on helping other people.
• Equitable & social justice- Young person places high value on promoting equality and reducing hunger and poverty.
• Integrity- Young person acts on convictions and stands up for her or his beliefs.
• Honesty- Young person "tells the truth even when it is not easy."
• Responsibility- Young person accepts and takes personal responsibility.
• Restraint- Young person believes it is important not to be sexually active or use alcohol or other drugs.

Social Competencies

• Planning & decision making- Young person knows how to plan ahead and make choices.
• Interpersonal competence- Young person has empathy, sensitivity, and friendship skills.
• Cultural competence- Young person has knowledge of and comfort with people of different cultural/racial/ethnic backgrounds.
• Resistance skills- Young person can resist negative peer pressure and dangerous situations.
• Peaceful conflict resolution- Young person seeks to resolve conflict nonviolently.

Positive Identity

• Personal control- Young person feels he or she has control over "things that happen to me."
• Self-esteem- Young person reports having a high self-esteem.
• Sense of purpose- Young person reports that "my life has purpose."
• Positive view of personal future- Young person is optimistic about her or his personal future.

Recently, I had the pleasure of collaborating with an Advanced Public Speaking class at Concordia College in Moorhead. These 15 students, encouraged by their professor to spend a semester dedicated to asset building through a service learning project, probably had no idea what they were getting into and how it was going to shape their experience in this class. I witnessed something truly amazing - the POWER of assets to effect positive change.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm certain most of these students were asset builders before they began this class. Many of them had younger siblings, were involved in coaching activities like basketball and cheerleading, were tutors helping to ensure adequate literacy levels in young students, shared a desire to go into teaching or ministry - these students were no strangers to assets! It wasn't until they went through the Asset Champion training curriculum, though, that many of them probably started making the connection between things they were already doing (like coaching, helping students with their reading skills, spending time with siblings) that they realized how important these relatively mundane-seeming activities really were. And because part of their project for the semester was to intentionally and purposefully build assets, they began developing creative ways to implement this new 'asset awareness' into their lives.

For most students, it seems their projects followed an interesting trajectory. Many of them started simply - making an effort to hold doors or open doors for people, talking to people they didn't know and making small talk, spending time in classrooms with students, incorporating assets into tutoring, reaching out to help their friends, encouraging fellow students in their classes - as you can see, there was ample variety. For some, the lofty visions they developed for their projects required redesigning so that the project could be completed by the end of the semester. Whatever path each individual project took, they all seemed to share something in common. Each project produced a student who voiced a desire to remain an asset builder! Each project, or rather each student's commitment to his/her project, resulted in an entire class reporting how easy asset building had become. For a group of 15 students, asset building became a way of life, the effect of which will continue to make a positive impact on individuals, families, and communities these students come into contact with throughout their lives. Now that's powerful!

You see, these projects didn't just take place in a college classroom, although the positive effect it had on the classroom environment was profound. These students got involved on campus, in their families, and in their communities at a different level, building relationships with others and enhancing existing relationships. Then, because it was a public speaking class, came the final part of their project - a public speech! Each student shared the message of asset building and its importance, along with their experiences as asset builders, to a public audience of their choice. Again, their choices ranged - from other college students in their dorms, to a local Rotary Club, to a high school class, to school faculty, to a church congregation. Some of the power of this project resulted as the students made connections with others in their communities about asset building, impacting hundreds of other people with this positive message. What started as a simple assignment to do a simple project resulted in a lasting positive difference in the way a group of students live their lives. Simple.

What Can I Do Right Now?

1. Be available to talk to your own kids, their friends, your grandkids, your babysitter or youth in the neighborhood. Ask them what they like to do, what they are involved in, what they would like to do someday. Show them that you care.
2. Talk to your neighbors about including youth activities in your neighborhood association...If you don't have a neighborhood association, form one. Or start getting to know your neighbors by holding a root beer float night, potluck, day at the park...start building relationships.
3. Encourage your congregation to look at its practices to make sure they are youth friendly. If you provide nametags for adults, provide them for youth too. Publish a children's bulletin. Hold services for children. Tie asset building into religious education. Consider starting an outreach program offering structured activities for community youth. Involve youth in the planning of these things.
4. Look at your business policies and consider them in light of what will support families and their children. Purchase items you normally would (magazines, holiday items) from youth groups. Offer flexible work schedules. Provide reimbursement for employees who take parenting classes. If you employee teens, consider ways you can support their positive development. Provide training. Explain why you do, what you do in your business. Provide flexible scheduling to work around academic commitments and extra curricular activities.
5. Volunteer to help children at your local school, whether or not you are a parent. You can read with or to students, share information about your career or hobby or help with special projects.
6. Young people can help their peers and younger children in many ways. Invite a new student to join an activity you are involved in. Say hello to younger children and really listen to what they have to say. Compliment them. Look for opportunities to be a mentor, either formally or informally.
7. Provide leadership opportunities for youth; through your synagogue or church, your neighborhood, your school or your boy or girl scout troop.
8. If you don't do it already, start today by saying hello to young people!

What are assets?

Most people think of assets in terms of property or financial resources. Developmental Assets are the positive relationships, opportunities, values and skills that young people need to grow up caring and responsible. Search Institute identified 40 developmental assets as the essential building blocks of healthy child and youth development - including adult role models, positive peer influence, caring school climates and a sense that community values youth. Search Institute's research shows that youth need 31 or more of the 41 assets to thrive. Our data shows the Fargo, Moorhead, West Fargo youth have an average of 19.1 assets. Each of us has the power to make a difference by being asset builders for children and youth.

There is no doubt that young people need adult role models in order to thrive. And guess what? YOU ARE A ROLE MODEL, whether you want to be one or not. Our young people are watching all of us, not just parents and teachers, to learn how they should act and feel about themselves and the world. Every interaction counts: The look on your face as you pass a group of young people at the mall; the greeting you offer when you see a neighbor’s kid walking down your street; the way you maneuver your car near them while they cross the street. Just imagine what a tremendous impact we could have on young people if every adult they encountered simply smiled at them! You don’t need to be a parent or a “professional” to build assets. You only need to be deliberate in a few ways to make a big difference.

Asset Champion Network Vision

The Asset Champion Network vision is that a critical mass of asset builders will surround all children and youth throughout the Moorhead, Fargo, and West Fargo area so that asset building becomes a way of life supported by asset-building programs, public policy and media.

Following are the Asset Champions Network's high-level results in promoting the assets approach to impact public policy, programs, personal behavior:

• Public and Private Schools involvement
• Corporate involvement
• Provided training for faith communities, school representatives, parents

Asset Champion Network Goals

1. Parents and other adults embrace, model & promote asset building with all children and youth. Indicators: Adults report changed behaviors with young people in their families and the community. Increased adult volunteerism/activism with/for children and youth, e.g. parent involvement in schools, adult volunteers in community groups/programs, advocacy in the community, etc. Increased numbers of adult asset builders will contribute to increased community awareness of developmental assets and the Asset Champion Network.
2. Children & youth embrace, model and promote asset building with their peers and in partnership with adults. Indicators: Children & youth report changed behaviors with their peers - speak up/take action to promote respect for themselves and others. Children & youth report increased opportunities for youth-adult partnership. Increased numbers of child & youth asset builders will contribute to increased community awareness of developmental assets.
3. Organizations and systems in the community adopt, integrate and promote the assets approach. Indicators: Increased numbers of city councils, school boards, funders, CBO boards, media outlets, etc. implement, integrate and promote assets. Improved school success. (focus on ALL children & youth) Increased assets for “high-risk” children and youth.