Leaders Prepare for Youth Summit
by William “Brother” Rogers
General Colin Powell has a vision, and it is coming to Starkville. His vision is to save every at-risk child in America from growing up abused, neglected, unskilled or addicted to drugs or alcohol.
That is the mission of the Summit for Oktibbeha County’s Future which will take place on Saturday, April 4, 1998, beginning at the Greensboro Center at 9:00 a.m. and ending around 2:30 p.m. at the Armstrong Junior High School gymnasium.
This local summit meeting is an outgrowth of the Presidents’ Summit for America’s Future which took place last April in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and the Summit for Mississippi’s Future held last November in Jackson. This Saturday’s summit represents our community’s commitment to this national effort to improve the lives of at-risk youth by providing them with the five basic resources they need to grow up into strong, capable and contributing members of society.
General Powell’s organization has identified these five fundamental resources as 1) An ongoing relationship with a caring adult, such as a mentor, tutor or coach; 2) Safe places and structured activities during non-school hours to learn and grow; 3) A healthy start and a healthy future; 4) A marketable skill through effective education; and 5) An opportunity to give back through community service.
The purpose of the Summit for Oktibbeha County’s Future is to bring together volunteers from various groups in our community – churches, schools, civic clubs, businesses, youth service organizations, social service agencies, and others – to discuss what is currently being done to serve our youth and what gaps we need to fill to ensure that ALL our young people have the five fundamental resources listed above.
Research findings on these five fundamental resources are compelling: children and young people who have these resources are less likely to engage in a wide range of negative behavior, including alcohol abuse, tobacco and drug use, teen pregnancy, dropping out of school, domestic violence, and attempted suicide.
Young people with an abundance of these resources are more likely to experience positive outcomes, including success in school, healthier lives, opportunities to serve, and optimism for the future. The difference between resource-deprived and resource-rich youth can be staggering. In short, the more of these assets young people experience, the better off we all will be.
Most kids today are doing fine. They have the love, the care and the nurturing they need to make it in today’s world. In fact, Starkville and Oktibbeha County are blessed with enormous opportunities for young people, such as sports, scouting, 4-H, Jr. ROTC, and church-based youth activities.
But there are children right here in Oktibbeha County who do not have adequate access to resources which many of us take for granted. Just last week a sixth grader in Starkville committed suicide. Recently, in our own state and in a neighboring state, teens and even pre-teens have gunned down fellow classmates and teachers at school. Clearly, there are kids who need our help now—kids whose well being depends on our churches, civic clubs, and other organizations reaching further, digger deeper, and just plain doing more than we have ever done.
If you are concerned about what is being done to provide our youth with the basics they need to be successful, I hope you will attend the Summit for Oktibbeha County’s Future. Our success in meeting the needs of our youth depends on caring citizens becoming involved in efforts like this.
No one group or organization can accomplish this important task, but working together we can make the most difference for the children of Starkville and Oktibbeha County.
General Colin Powell has a vision, and it is coming to Starkville. His vision is to save every at-risk child in America from growing up abused, neglected, unskilled or addicted to drugs or alcohol.
That is the mission of the Summit for Oktibbeha County’s Future which will take place on Saturday, April 4, 1998, beginning at the Greensboro Center at 9:00 a.m. and ending around 2:30 p.m. at the Armstrong Junior High School gymnasium.
This local summit meeting is an outgrowth of the Presidents’ Summit for America’s Future which took place last April in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and the Summit for Mississippi’s Future held last November in Jackson. This Saturday’s summit represents our community’s commitment to this national effort to improve the lives of at-risk youth by providing them with the five basic resources they need to grow up into strong, capable and contributing members of society.
General Powell’s organization has identified these five fundamental resources as 1) An ongoing relationship with a caring adult, such as a mentor, tutor or coach; 2) Safe places and structured activities during non-school hours to learn and grow; 3) A healthy start and a healthy future; 4) A marketable skill through effective education; and 5) An opportunity to give back through community service.
The purpose of the Summit for Oktibbeha County’s Future is to bring together volunteers from various groups in our community – churches, schools, civic clubs, businesses, youth service organizations, social service agencies, and others – to discuss what is currently being done to serve our youth and what gaps we need to fill to ensure that ALL our young people have the five fundamental resources listed above.
Research findings on these five fundamental resources are compelling: children and young people who have these resources are less likely to engage in a wide range of negative behavior, including alcohol abuse, tobacco and drug use, teen pregnancy, dropping out of school, domestic violence, and attempted suicide.
Young people with an abundance of these resources are more likely to experience positive outcomes, including success in school, healthier lives, opportunities to serve, and optimism for the future. The difference between resource-deprived and resource-rich youth can be staggering. In short, the more of these assets young people experience, the better off we all will be.
Most kids today are doing fine. They have the love, the care and the nurturing they need to make it in today’s world. In fact, Starkville and Oktibbeha County are blessed with enormous opportunities for young people, such as sports, scouting, 4-H, Jr. ROTC, and church-based youth activities.
But there are children right here in Oktibbeha County who do not have adequate access to resources which many of us take for granted. Just last week a sixth grader in Starkville committed suicide. Recently, in our own state and in a neighboring state, teens and even pre-teens have gunned down fellow classmates and teachers at school. Clearly, there are kids who need our help now—kids whose well being depends on our churches, civic clubs, and other organizations reaching further, digger deeper, and just plain doing more than we have ever done.
If you are concerned about what is being done to provide our youth with the basics they need to be successful, I hope you will attend the Summit for Oktibbeha County’s Future. Our success in meeting the needs of our youth depends on caring citizens becoming involved in efforts like this.
No one group or organization can accomplish this important task, but working together we can make the most difference for the children of Starkville and Oktibbeha County.