Becca MannBecca, a student at Fryeburg Academy, is an incredible asset to this year's MYLA program.
Our Vision
MYAN's vision is that youth feel valued, empowered and prepared to engage in and improve their communities.
Our Mission
MYAN's mission is to empower and prepare youth and adults to partner for positive change by offering them training, networking and leadership opportunities.
Our Values
We strongly believe in the power of youth and adult partnerships
and the capacity we all have to change the world we live in. Our youth
& adult staff identified six core values to guide our work
together, pictured in the "MYAN Values Wheel" (see graphic).
Our Approach
MYAN's work is grounded in the models and philosophies of positive youth development. We
aim to recognize each individual'sstrengths, help people to branch out
from these strengths to build new confidence and competencies, and
then support them as they create positive new connections and contribute
to their communities.
"Never
doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change
the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."
~Margaret Mead
MYAN believes youth are essential partners in creating
community change of all types, and that we all have the
MYAN is excited to share some fantastic news in the world of tobacco prevention: Thornton Academy sophomore, Hattie Simon, has been named the 2012 Eastern Regional Youth Advocate of the Year by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids! The award recognizes top youth advocates from across the country for their work promoting tobacco prevention.
Hattie lead a two-year long effort to persuade the Old Orchard Beach Town Council to adopt a Tobacco-Free Beach Policy, and we are so pleased that her success is being shared with the rest of the nation through this award! As part of her award the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids will be giving Hattie a $2,500 scholarship, a $500 grant to continue her work in OOB and she will also be flown to Washington, DC to attend the Youth Advocates of the Year Gala at the Ritz-Carlton on May 17th.
Hattie, along with the other members of the OOB Youth Tobacco Action Group, received a small mini grant of $250 for having the best action plan at MYAN’s Statewide Anti-Tobacco Youth Summit in 2009, which served as the catalyst for her two-year long project in Old Orchard Beach. Hattie was also a member of the MYAN Youth Leaders Alliance (MYLA), which is a year-round, free program launched in 2010 to give students across the state in-depth leadership and advocacy skills. MYAN is currently recruiting for the next group of MYLA students and we encourage all young people who are interested in doing something positive for their schools or communities to apply at www.myan.org/myla.
The OOB Youth Tobacco Action Group has continued to attend MYAN skill-building events and taken advantage of MYAN resources to support their efforts. We are super excited by their success and very proud to be able to share the positive outcome of their hard work and the utilization of advocacy skills they gained at the MYAN events.
Disclaimer: Please note providing links to web and downloadable resources does not constitute endorsement of a particular organization or its publications, nor is the Maine Youth Action Network, Opportunity Alliance, or any of the program or agency funders responsible for the content or materials in the resources or information posted on any of the other organizations' web sites. Additionally, Maine Youth Action Network, Opportunity Alliance and its funders are not responsible for content posted by members of this site.