As we come to the end of this school year we want to take the opportunity to celebrate. In every corner of the state there are youth and adults working together to change their communities for the better. To each one of you reading this newsletter, we say thank you--for your dedication, for your desire to make a difference, and for believing in the power of youth and adult partnerships. We are proud to be part of this community of people creating a safer, healthier & more aware state for us all. 

This newsletter is about celebration, but it is also about both reflection and looking to the future. Reflection--looking back--is an important process in moving forward. What did you learn this year (about yourself, your group, your community)? We encourage you to make a commitment to applying what you've learned as you move ahead.

We hope the tools & stories in this issue will help you to do all of these things--to recognize & celebrate successes of youth and adult partnerships in our state, to reflect on your own learnings, and to stay inspired as you look forward to a future in which you can and will continue to change your world.

As we reflect back on this school year, we are inspired by great work being done all over Maine by groups of youth and adults who want to change their worlds. Read on to get inspired by just some of the many accomplishments of youth and adult partnerships across the state this year.

• The Lincoln Academy Youth Advocacy Program (YAP) Team collected over 1,000 signatures from high schools across Maine to add to a petition the Boston Red Sox not to use tobacco products as they are role models.
• Students from Rumford established the state's first chapter of Ignite, an organization that empowers the youth of America to hold the tobacco industry accountable at every level by directing public officials to act responsibly. Ignite Oxford County continues to grow and mentor students from other parts of the state to start their own chapters.
• Youth and adults from STOP (Southern Aroostook Tobacco-Free Outreach Project), Partnership for a Healthy Community, St. John Valley Partnership, and Power of Prevention joined together to host the fifth annual Aroostook Partnership Extravaganza (APE) Youth Summit to train students to be youth advocates in their school and communities regarding the issues of tobacco prevention, nutrition and physical activity.
• Downeast Healthy Tomorrows YAP group of Lubec successfully advocated to have a healthy vending machine installed at the high school.
• Youth from the Mount Ararat HS Gay Straight Alliance teamed up with MYAN to offer a workshop at the "Beyond the Basics of Suicide Prevention" Conference about how to improve health care and suicide prevention support forGay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgendered/Transexual and Questioning (GLBTQ) youth.
• School-Based Health Care (SBHC) Student Advisory Groups from across the state advocated at the state house about the importance of SBHCs and the need for continued funding (read youth-written article about the experience below!)
• Healthy Options Together in Bridgton held a Battle of the Bands contest in which performers created original songs to educate their peers about issues of substance abuse and suicide.
• Healthy Acadia, University of Maine Cooperative Extension, and the CommunityFood Security Coalition published the 2007 Hancock County Farm to School Directory to help develop strong, sustainable purchasing relationships between Hancock County schools and local farms/food producers. The Directory contains listings of farms, suppliers and schools as well as many other resources such as tips for working with farmers, ideas for getting a farm to school project started, and examples of other farm to school projects around New England. Download a PDF version of the Directory.

• Check out this basic introduction to some interactive ways to talk with your group about how an activity or event went.
  
• Want to survey people but hate doing all that tallying? Use an online system like Survey Monkey (free for a basic subscription, which allows you up to 10 questions and 100 responses per survey.) Survey data can help you add objective & anonymous data to a report ("90% of people reporting learning something") in addition to your group participants' reflections.
  

• Explore the aspects of evaluation theory & practice that YOU are most interested in:

  • Head to http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=bhsqy4bab.0.0.fbktlybab.0&ts=S0254&p=http%3A%2F%2Fgsociology.icaap.org%2Fmethods%2F&id=preview. This website lists FREE resources for methods in program evaluation and social research. The focus is on "how-to" do evaluation research and the methods used: surveys, focus groups, sampling, interviews, and other methods.
    

  • You can also check out this online library for for-profits and non-profits which includes an Overview of Major Types of Evaluations, information on Designing Assessment and Evaluation Tools, and Selecting from Among Publicly Available Assessments, Online Guides and General Resources.

• Reminder for YAP Coordinators: Help the YAP evaluation subcommittee improve the tool they created this year by filling out the survey about the tool (the tool referred to as the "event form", "process measure" or "activity form") by May 30th!

Visit MYAN's resource pages to get connected to websites & print resources on a wide variety of other topics.

The Captain Planet Foundation
For children- and youth-led projects that promote understanding of environmental issues.

Eligibility: Schools and nonprofits.
Next Deadline: June 30
Amount: $250 to $2,500.

ALL PROJECTS MUST:

• Promote understanding of environmental issues
• Focus on hands-on involvement
• Involve children and young adults 6-18 (elementary through high school)
• Promote interaction and cooperation within the group
• Help young people develop planning and problem solving skills
• Include adult supervision
• Commit to follow-up communication with the Foundation (specific requirements are explained once the grant has been awarded)

For more fundraising ideas & resources visit our Grants & Fundraising page!

• Earth Steward Explorers is a Summer adventure experience for youth ages 11-13, run by Cultivating Community. Earth Steward Explorers experience nature directly through the workings of a beautiful, small-scale organic farm and by way of adventures in a range of landscapes, including forests, ponds, the mountains, and the sea. Explorers grow as young artists, and the entire program roots young people in the ways we are all connected to each other and the land.
  
  Cultivating Community also employs Youth Growers in an intensive 7 week program that prepares them for a future of engaged citizenship, productive employment, personal integrity, and social awareness to tackle challenges that lay ahead.

• Chewonki has had more than ninety years to develop its engaging blend of learning, action, and ideals. They offer their traditional boys camp, a broad array of environmental education programs, traveling natural history programs, wilderness trips and workshops for adults, families, and groups. Their hope is that each participant returns home with real skills that provide pleasure and confidence; an understanding of the power of integrity; a deepened sense of responsibility for self, others, and the environment; and a genuine enthusiasm for the natural world.

• Aroostook Teen Leadership Camp This "universal" substance abuse prevention residential summer camp geared for 8th and 9th graders is energetic and rewarding for all - staff and students. The camp encourages no use of alcohol, tobacco, or other illegal substances by adolescents while they are in middle and high school.
  
  
• Rippleffect's Youth Leadership Summit is a chance for 2 High School juniors from every high school in Cumberland and York Counties to receive exciting and valuable training in outdoor education, leadership & life skills for free. Through the generous support of L.L. Bean, the Aristotle Foundation, the Edward Daveis Benevolent Trust, the Ferguson Foundation, the Horizon Foundation, and the Samuel L. Cohen Foundation, Rippleffect is able to serve up to 66 juniors for 8 days of adventure on Casco Bay and beyond.
  
  Students are asked to submit an essay about why they would like to be involved, with a focus on students who may not have had an opportunity to shine to date. For more information, call the Rippleffect office at 207-791-7870. Space is limited, so apply today!

Find More Events & Trainings Happening Around the Network.

Whether you're a long-time MYAN participant or a program that wants to get involved, we need you to fill out our survey. Fill out the survey TODAY and pass it on to others who will benefit!