The children are the future of any community and Morgan Hill is no different.
That’s why the Mt. Madonna YMCA, in cooperation with the city, school district and other local organizations, has put together a special conference that focuses on developing strong core values and characteristics in our area youth.
“It’s not every day you have a mayor, a superintendent, an organization like the YMCA, and other business leaders coming together to meet a common goal like building youth assets,” said Brandy Echelberry, YMCA Board Member and co-chair of the Youth Assets Development Committee.
“We’re hoping that together, through a conference such as this, we can not only begin to build a stronger youth community in Morgan Hill, but also become a leader in overall community asset-building.”
The Morgan Hill Asset Conference on “Understanding & Empowering our Youth” will be held March 16 from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Community and Cultural Center on 1700 Monterey Road. The free conference, which includes complimentary breakfast and lunch, is open to anyone who wants to help build a strong youth community in Morgan Hill. Those interested can pre-register at www.mhassetconference.eventbrite.com.
“Morgan Hill greatly values our youth and wants to give them every possible opportunity to succeed,” said Mayor Steve Tate. “By providing them with external developmental assets and encouraging their own development of internal assets, we know they will have a greater chance to succeed and will also be great positive contributors to our community.”
Based off of 41 Youth Developmental Assets, which are categorized into either external or internal assets and then further broken down into eight sub groups (four in each), the conference has planned 20 interactive workshops with numerous speakers of varying expertise, a teen youth panel and an awards presentation.
“The conference will focus on asset development and will feature many different perspectives, including the youth themselves, on how to build assets within Morgan Hill,” said Tate, who also serves on the Youth Assets Development Committee. “The conference will make a positive contribution to improving our city, making Morgan Hill even better than it already is.”
Attendees will learn about the crucial building blocks, called Developmental Assets, which are necessary to develop youth into thriving, successful adults. The Search Institute came up with the Developmental Assets, which have since been adopted by the City of Morgan Hill as well as the Morgan Hill Unified School District.
Under the External Assets are Support, Empowerment, Boundaries and Expectations; and Constructive Use of Time. The four Internal Assets are Commitment to Learning, Positive Values, Social Competencies and Positive Identity. The message and methodology will be passed along to teachers, parents and residents alike with hopes they will use what they’ve learned in their daily lives to make an impact on local youth.
“I think as responsible adults we all want what’s best for our kids, but we may not always know just how to infuse these building blocks, like the 41 Developmental Assets into our daily living,” said Echelberry. “A conference like this could be a major step in the right direction for adults looking to build a stronger future for the kids in their lives and, in turn, we can move to make our community even stronger than it already is.”
There will be six or seven workshops going on simultaneously every hour for three hours, so an attendee can pick which topic interests them the most and listen in. Hudson Moore, Director of Training at the YMCA of Silicon Valley, will lead two Assets 101 courses, while Anne Ehresman, Executive Director of Project Cornerstone, will speak about Building Assets in Your Community.
“Any parent or adult working with kids can walk in and get a general perspective about what the conference is all about and then hit two or three workshops that have topics that are of interest to them,” said Chris Ghione, Executive Director of the Mt. Madonna YMCA.
Anne Horner of Thinker Toys; Jim Carillo, Principal of Blue Marquee Inc; Dori Prado, Founder of Chill Out Program and Living Above the Influence (LATI); and Larry McElvain, Executive Director of Discovery Counseling Center will all head up workshops involving family safety issues.
Other interactive workshops will cover Healthy Living for the Whole Family and Supporting Academic Success with speakers such as Todd Kimble, Trainer and Board Member of Orchard Valley Youth Soccer, and Dr. Wesley Smith, Superintendent of the Morgan Hill Unified School District.
“We’re more than happy to partner with the school district and the city and whoever else is willing to use asset framework and spread the message,” said Ghione, a member of the Youth Assets Development Committee. “It’s a community movement to show youth we value them and want to make our community a better place for them.”
Organizers are also asking residents to visit their web site and make nominations for the Asset Champion Awards. The committee will then select the winners from the nomination list and hand out awards to a worthy school, adult role model, local business and youth service organization.
