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.