Tony Santilli of Leigh High School & Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Chief Scott Seaman were co-Masters of Ceremony of the event.
Since 1999, Project Cornerstone has been committed to helping every young person in Silicon Valley feel valued, respected, and known. On March 24, 2011, hundreds of community members representing local governments, businesses, schools, community organizations, and the faith community as well as parents and youth came together to honor local Asset Champions and support Project Cornerstone in renewing and revitalizing their community’s commitment to kids at the annual Asset Champions Breakfast which took place at the Fairmont San José. Asset Champions award categories included Positive Cultural Identity, Caring School Climate, Positive Peer Influence, Adult Role Model, and Community Values Youth.
The event also marked the official data release of Project Cornerstone's fall 2010 A&B and Me and My World survey administration to over 36,000 students in more than 200 schools and 25 districts throughout Santa Clara County -- one of the largest community samples to date! Project Cornerstone previously administered surveys to 13,700 youth in 2004, which resulted in additional community partnerships and increased school participation in asset building programs. One partner, the YMCA of Silicon Valley, recently created a video which highlights the positive effects of Developmental Assets in their community.
Project Cornerstone’s ability to take the Developmental Asset framework and fine tune it according to their community’s specific needs is another reason for their continued success.
For example, they have identified a 41st “Cultural Pride” asset—an expansion on cultural competence. For the young people in their community, being “aware” of culture was simply not enough. Taking the asset to the next level—allowing youth to take pride in and celebrate others’ heritage—was what really resonated. Joma Briones [pictured below], manager of the youth development programs at Asian Americans for Community Involvement (AACI) was one of the Asset Champions honored with the Positive Cultural Identity Award at the Asset Champions Breakfast. Other award categories included Caring School Climate, Positive Peer Influence, Adult Role Model, and Community Values Youth. Click here to view more photos of award recipients!
Pictured: Thao Nguyen, Van Dinh, Patrick Ngo, Alexandra Torres, Joma Briones (award recipient), Lorraine Do, Anne Im, Michele Lew
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