Search Institute

For the past twenty-five years, the Northeast Community Challenge (NECC) Coalition in Ohio has worked to prevent risk behaviors among youth. The coalition works within all sectors of four municipalities in Ohio: Blue Ash, Montgomery, Symmes Township, and Sycamore Township, to support a community-wide approach to prevention. NECC presents a comprehensive approach to working to build the Developmental Assets, utilizing them as protective factors in a prevention model to strengthen substance abuse prevention and increase protective factors for related risk behaviors.MORE

With its roots in substance abuse prevention, Community Partnership of the Ozarks, in southwestern Missouri, uses the 40 assets as the foundation of all of their work on behalf of children and families. Serving 21 counties across the region, Community Partnership provides training, resources, and support to bring community sectors together to create positive change.MORE

One of the coalition’s major projects is the Social Norms initiative, a project aimed at changing the perceptions of teens, which began after the results from the community’s 2006 Profiles of Student Life: Attitudes and Behaviors survey showed that sixty-five percent of students did not use alcohol.MORE

External Assets to share with teachers, children, parents and staff:

Asset 1: Family Support. Regularly call or write parents to give positive messages, and during conferences, start and focus on the positive aspects of the student. Encourage students to attend conferences with the parents and then include them in the discussion or even have the students tell their accomplishments and goals.MORE

“Preventing Teens from Engaging in Risky Behaviors as a Means of Coping with Stress” is a recent informational piece received from Gen Kirchman, CESA 5. Youth struggle with a great deal of stress in their everyday lives—from family situations, to school, to money, to peer pressure.MORE

As Portage County Alliance for Youth recently celebrated 25 years of volunteers who work together to value youth, the group took the opportunity to honor community asset builders in Portage County.MORE

Portage County Alliance for Youth, an all volunteer group of individuals and agencies who care about youth and promote positive youth development, is proudly celebrating 25 years of service in 2009.MORE

KidsMatter hosted the annual Student Job Fair on Thursday, March 19th from 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM at Merner Field House on the campus of North Central College. The KidsMatter Job Fair was endorsed by the Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce and sponsored by Illinois Energy Windows & Siding.MORE

On Tuesday, September 23, KidsMatter hosted their 6th annual Volunteer Fair at the City Municipal Center from 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm.MORE

On the fourth Tuesday every month in the basement of Ascension Church in North Minneapolis, a family dinner brings together people from the neighborhood to share a meal and build community. The Peace Dinners started as a result of a partnership between Ascension Church and the Liemandt Family Foundation, a small family organization that wanted to focus its efforts on fostering resilience and supporting families in North Minneapolis, using the Developmental Assets as their focus.MORE