Local nonprofit earns national recognition for youth civic engagement program
Thursday, 05 August 2010 20:46
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Hampton's city government isn't the only local entity receiving recognition for using innovative methods of civic engagement. Recently one of the programs created by Alternatives Inc., a local nonprofit organization that often teams with the city to work with teens, was recognized by Innovations in Civic Participation, or ICP, as one of the "Most Innovative AmeriCorps Programs in the United States.”
Known as Peninsula AmeriCorps Serve and Support, or PASS, the project employs students from Christopher Newport University to bring skills associated with their majors to younger teens in the community. Then, using those skills, the teens collectively create projects designed to reach out to their peers and enlist them to also become engaged in community service.
"It's about leadership. It's about young people getting involved in the community through service and about their having a voice," said Allyson Graul, director of Alternative Inc.'s Youth Civic Engagement Center.
PASS is funded through a grant from AmeriCorps, the federal government's public service program for youth, and run in partnership with Christopher Newport University's Center for Service Learning and Social Entrepreneurship.
In this project, PASS identified a set of curriculum-based skills staff members thought would be of interest to younger teens. Staff members then went to CNU and distributed notices seeking students interested in sharing the knowledge they'd acquired while working on their majors with youths in the community.Eventually, 12 students working toward degrees in a diverse range were selected by Alternatives Inc. and accepted by AmeriCorps.
Graul said that the closeness in age between the CNU students and the teens they work with is a key to their success.
"I think that's the beauty of it. They're young enough to still relate, but old enough that they have a little more experience and some skills," Graul said.
"They partnered with the local food bank, and the kids grew their own vegetables and took care of the garden," she said. As a result, they've been able to supply locally grown fresh fruits and vegetables to the food bank.
According to Graul, another component of PASS's success is the Hampton Teen Center at 300 Butler Farm Road, the city's state-of-the-art multipurpose facility for youth.
The center is housed in a former Sentara fitness center.
Including the Hampton Coalition for Youth, which oversees the teen center, and Alternatives Inc., there are a dozen agencies -- both governmental and nongovernmental -- that partner to run and support the facility.
The teen center and its services are available to any teenager who lives in Hampton. The annual fee is $25 and gives members access to all of the center's services. But Graul said no teen is turned away because of an inability to pay.
Graul also discussed how getting the word out to Hampton teens about all of the various programs and services available at the teen center remains a challenge."We're trying to find ways to reach kids in a way that they'll actually get our messages," she said. "We have a Facebook account. We're texting them about opportunities. But it's difficult getting the word out to kids today."
She said that previously, Alternatives Inc. went to Hampton high schools on a weekly basis and set up displays where students could learn about opportunities at the teen center.
"This year, we're going to have a youth marketing team at each high school. They'll be in charge of getting the word out through the social networking sites and other means at their individual schools," Graul said.
 Videos about the Hampton Teen Center: "The Hampton Teen Center" "Wall-breaking ceremony for Hampton Teen Center" |
As for how the programs ICP singled out were identified, the preface to its report reads: "state service commissions from Alabama to Wyoming shared their tremendously creative and meaningful AmeriCorps state programs that are making a difference in the lives of Americans."
In the introduction to its report, “Transforming Communities through Service: A Collection of 52 of the Most Innovative AmeriCorps Programs in the United States,” ICP explained the purpose of its work this way:
"With a recent surge of interest in national service, many existing AmeriCorps state programs have been lauded as highly successful and innovative. Yet, this information is not widely shared. State service commissions have therefore relied on word of mouth or chance workshops to learn how to create similar programs in their states."
"I think we got the award because of the innovative way that we set this program up," said Graul. "It could be easily replicated in a lot of settings."
Once school starts up in the fall, Hampton high school students should find many opportunities to sign up with Alternatives Inc. right in their schools.
But students can also just go to the Hampton Teen Center and sign up there. Programs involving music (the center has its own recording studio), drama, technology and other vocations are readily available.
The Hampton Teen Center is at 300 Butler Farm Road, a couple of blocks from Thomas Nelson Community College and right next to The Hamptons golf course.
You can access a map of the teen center's location by clicking HERE.
