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Giv’Em 40 Coalition
ISSUE AREA: PEOPLE
City: Traverse City, MI
Arts - Youth - Urban
Contact:
PO Box 694
Traverse City, MI 49685-0694
1-877-GivEm40
231-947-3200
info@givem40.org
www.givem40.org
Date Published: September 2006
Giv’Em 40 is an ongoing assessment of 40 critical assets needed by youth to sustain healthy and productive development. Based in Traverse City, Giv’Em 40 involves youth through the schools, identifies weaknesses and gaps in youth assets as identified by the youth themselves, and then targets community initiatives to develop and strengthen those assets. The Giv’Em 40 Coalition is an ever-expanding group of people working to help all kids succeed in Northwest Michigan. By working to provide youth with 40 fundamental assets, the Coalition hopes to help youth thrive, and reduce harmful behavior among teens such as acts of violence, suicide, and drug use. Giv’Em 40 is based on 40 different social assets that researchers say are important to help young people avoid risky behaviors. Individuals involved in the Giv’Em 40 Coalition include neighbors, parents, relatives, and large organizations like schools, community groups, businesses, law enforcement and the media. The group’s mission encompasses all teens, and not those perceived to be "at risk."
The vision for Giv’Em 40 first arose through a combined effort of the United Way of Northwest Michigan, Rotary Charities of Traverse City, and the Grand Traverse Regional Community Foundation. Members of these organizations, coordinated by the United Way, saw a lack of cohesiveness in their communities concerning what assets and values were most vital to the development of youth. The Coalition developed the framework for the forty main assets youth needed to succeed; these fall into eight main categories of support, empowerment, boundaries and expectations, constructive use of time, commitment to learning, positive values, social competencies, and positive identity. The Coalition believed that, through the cooperation of educational and recreational organizations, communities, and families, they could ensure that youth’s needs were being met.
The Giv’Em 40 Coalition focused its first efforts in schools. In 1999, the organization convinced all 19 area school districts to administer a survey to students in grades 7, 9, and 11 to assess the extent to which students’ needs within these 40 categories were being met. The results of the 4,500-student survey were revealed at a Rally Around Youth event, with 900 attendants, half of which were youth. The results of the survey showed that area youth were deficient in many of the forty assets necessary for success. In particular, the results showed that only 26% of students felt their schools were caring environments.
The results of the survey spurred a dialogue among educators and community members alike as to how to best address the needs of youth. Though showing initial resistance, school superintendents eventually took initiative to improve the learning environment in their schools; local districts pooled funds to hire a school-based asset development coordinator. Through a school-community partnership in the nineteen school districts in the five-county area, superintendents have committed to making asset-building a priority in education. Last year began a Giv’Em 40 Asset Pilot Schools Initiative involving five of the area school districts. These districts are focusing intensively on improving 13 of the forty assets in their schools. Through this initiative, schools are working to create better and more supportive learning climates for students by inviting and encouraging student input in the school’s decision making processes ranging from the design of new facilities to what types of after-school activities to offer. By involving the youth in school’s important decisions, and showing them that that their input and participation is valued, the initiative is helping to foster better learning environments where youth feel their voices are heard.
In past years, Giv’Em 40 has expanded its efforts beyond schools and into the community in various ways. Giv’Em 40 launched the YouthFriends program, a mentoring program that pairs K-12 children with area adults. The mentors, who are screened and trained, build strong relationships with the youth through providing friendship and guidance. Giv’Em 40 also sponsors Teen Troupe Theater, a group of teens that travel around the region spreading the message about the 40 assets. The group also sponsored a Youth Summit on Violence Prevention in 1999 that was attended by 500 youth. In addition, Michigan State University committed $100,000 for staff and faculty support over three years to help develop an evaluation model based on the 40 assets.
Giv’Em 40’s primary funders continue to be its original founders: Rotary Charities of Traverse City, the Grand Traverse Regional Community Foundation and its Youth Advisory Councils (YACs), and the United Way of Northwest Michigan.. While the organization is only entering its fifth year and still growing, it has helped to create a community of educators, community members, and families committed to giving children the assets they need in order to succeed.
Resources:
www.givem40.org
www.gtherald.com/herald/1999/25cheese.htm
www.ncrel.org/policy/pubs/html/second/b.htm
www.search-institute.org/assetmag/winter02/NWMichigan/ |
