This is one workshop you won't want to miss

     Plans are underway to provide our mentors with two workshops this year that will focus on the 40 Developmental Assets and how they can be used to enhance mentoring.  More information about our first training opportunity can be found below.

     To help everyone understand a little bit more about Assets, and to perhaps get everyone a little more excited about attending these workshops, I wanted to give you all a little more background about Assets and how they were developed.

     First of all, I wanted to make sure everyone understands that the 40 Developmental Assets is not a program, it is a research-based framework that can be used to enhance or strengthen the programs that we are already using.  The Search Institute examined 800 different studies on youth development to determine what kids need to be successful.

     They looked at both the good and bad.  Instead of just focusing on how to avoid certain risk factors, they looked at the positive aspects of youth development that promote healthy development.  What they found were 40 common themes, which became the 40 Developmental Assets.

     These Assets are divided into two groups.  The “Internal Assets” focus on the social competencies and values that youth develop internally to guide behaviors and choices, while the “External Assets” focus on the relationships and opportunities that young people experience in their families, schools and communities.

     While mentoring certainly falls under this second category, we can also help to build the internal assets by taking time to invest in a child and model the values and social skills we want them to emulate.  This process of Asset Building is what our first workshop is all about.

     Since its creation in 1990, the Assets framework has become the most widely used approach to positive youth development in the United States. Over time, surveys of more than 3 million young people consistently show that the more assets young people have the less likely they are to engage in a wide range of high-risk behaviors such as alcohol  and drug use, violence, and sexual activity and the more likely they are to thrive and engage in positive behaviors.

     Sadly, the average young person experiences fewer than half of the 40 assets, and boys experience an average of three fewer assets than girls.  We hope to change that by promoting Assets Building not only within our mentoring program but within other community programs and organizations.  So I hope you will consider attending our mentor training in March and learn ways you can start building assets for the children and youth around you and help build a better world for kids.

You, too, can be an Asset Builder for kids

     In January, I had the opportunity to attend a special training workshop that focused on the 40 Developmental Assets, a framework for youth development created by the Search Institute.  Those who have been involved in the mentoring program for a while have probably heard me talk about Assets before.  Essentially, the Developmental Assets are 40 common sense, positive experiences and qualities that help influence the choices young people make and help them become caring, responsible, successful adults.  Helping youth to develop these Assets (a process known as “Asset Building”) begins simply by connecting with a young person in a purposeful way.  It’s not difficult.  In fact, the more I learn about this framework, the more impressed I am in how simple yet effective it can be.

     At the recent Asset workshop, we learned that everyone is an Asset Builder.  To illustrate this point, the presenter shared a true story about an elderly lady who I will refer to as Gladys.  While having her daily coffee with a friend in the front room of her house, Gladys looked out the window and saw something she had never noticed before.  A group of young children were gathering on the street in front of her home to wait for the school bus.  These students gathered there each day, but she had never really noticed them until now.

     One day, Gladys decided that she would make an effort to connect with these children by waiting with them at the bus stop.  After getting permission from the local school principal, Gladys would stand with the children and talk to them as they waited for the bus to arrive.  At first the children were a bit suspicious, but in time they started looking forward to seeing Gladys every day.  They would even express their concern and disappointment on the days she missed.  As news of her effort spread, other residents followed suit and this simple Asset Building approach soon became a community-wide effort.

     My point in sharing this story is that Asset Building is an easy process that starts simply by making an effort to connect with a child.  It’s all about building relationships.

     This year, we will be learning more about how to become an Asset Builder for youth.  At our quarterly mentor trainings, we will explore the idea that everyone is an Asset Builder.  We will also learn how to share the Asset message with others.  As more people learn about Assets, my hope is that we will become an Asset Building community that strives to have an impact on healthy growth and development in young people.

     Stay tuned for future Asset training opportunities.  In the meantime, if you would like to learn more about the 40 Developmental Assets, you can go to www.search-institute.org/assets.