Search Institute

You may not guess it from the look of things today, but ten years ago in St. Louis Park, MN, birthplace of the Healthy Communities • Healthy Youth initiative, 44% of all 9th graders were failing one or more of their classes. This worrisome fact prompted action.MORE

Pairing middle school students with college students can make for interesting and diverse mentoring relationships. Such relationships can have a great impact on all students involved. Metro Youth Partnership in Moorhead, Minnesota successfully runs such a mentoring program called LinkingUpMORE

“When I think about Asset Champions, I think about superheroes,” observed St. Louis Park high school senior Laura at an Asset Champion meeting in her community.MORE

The Moorhead Healthy Community Initiative (MHCI) was founded in 1995 by a group of Moorhead citizens concerned about the well-being of its children and youth. This group formed the organization with a unique philosophy on youth development: Search Institute’s Healthy Community • Healthy Youth based upon the 40 Developmental Assets® model.MORE

A sixth-grader was inspired to take action and help others when she saw news reports of fires in Southern California.MORE

Cosette, an 8-year-old, is starting a nonprofit to feed starving children in Africa. Here is Cosette’s story.MORE

Students in Club 40 at Lydiksen Elementary School in Pleasanton spend one lunch hour each week helping others. Their project, making dolls and blankets for women and children at a local shelter was featured on a local news station.

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The Northfield Union of Youth (NUY) is the longest-running youth-run youth center in the country and just completed its 15th year of existence.MORE

Juvenile offenders in Victoria, Australia are given opportunities to envision, prepare for, and make a new life for themselves, thanks to the Bridge Project. Stemming from a long relationship between the YMCA in Victoria and the youth justice centers in the area, the Bridge Project supports and connects incarcerated young people with opportunities to pursue jobs in fields that they are interested in as they transition into their lives outside of custody.MORE

Arizona’s Coconino County Juvenile Court Services has been working with the Developmental Assets® for a decade. The strength-based system focuses on positive outcomes for youth by providing training for staff, utilizing asset-building activities in its detention center, and implementing the Step Up program. Serving 1,300 youth each year, Coconino County Juvenile Court Services plays an important role in the community by offering positive, caring, structured environments dedicated to supporting some of the most vulnerable teens.MORE