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News & EventsRecent News & EventsA Celebration of Community: Making a Difference in the Lives of Waterbury's Youth On May 14, 2009, almost 200 individuals gathered at the Villa Rosa to honor and celebrate adult role models in the schools who work with children and youth in Waterbury. The Waterbury Prevention Policy Board hosted a special dinner and ceremony called “Champion for Youth Celebration.” The Waterbury PPB event was sponsored by the City of Waterbury. The purpose of the event was to celebrate the everyday hero. These individuals like bus drivers, school secretaries, Positive Behavioral Support specialists are adult role models to our youth, some even without realizing it. They are the people that pushed you to do better, supported and encouraged you, and helped you realize you could achieve more, all without asking for anything. The Waterbury PPB honored and thanked them for all that they do for the youth of Waterbury. Community volunteer Tom Chute served as Master of Ceremony, and Andrew Roberts, Executive Director of the Greater Waterbury YMCA, spoke about the power of mentoring and how it impacted his life. Individuals were nominated by their colleagues in the Waterbury schools and the Waterbury community. Congratulations to the awardees!
Urging everyone to consider giving back to the community and helping a new generation by becoming a mentor, Mayor Michael Jarjura has formally declared the month of January to be Mentoring Month in Waterbury, joining both the State of Connecticut and the United States in this observation. Echoing the words of Governor Jodi Rell, Mayor Jarjura proclaimed within the document, “I have made a firm commitment to mentoring and challenge business leaders and educators in the City of Waterbury to join me. Together, we can prepare our future workforce by developing children’s skills and confidence and expanding their notion of what is possible.” Mentoring Month has been observed annually since 2002. Each year celebrities and others participate in public service announcements and special events to call attention to the benefits of mentoring. Earlier this month, President Barack Obama appeared in a print advertisement promoting mentoring under the slogan, “Be the Change: Mentor A Child.” There are several programs which offer mentoring to students here in Waterbury, including the Waterbury Public Schools, Nutmeg Big Brothers / Big Sisters, Covenant to Care, Forefathers, Rivera Memorial Foundation, Boys to Men New England Mentoring Network and Waterbury Youth Service Systems, Inc. Over the past several years, these programs have worked together to recruit mentors as part of the Waterbury Prevention Policy Board. The Waterbury Prevention Policy Board (Waterbury PPB) is a community collaborative of Waterbury stakeholders working together to increase positive youth development, as well as provide a forum for communication among youth serving organizations and agencies and served as a vehicle for collaboration among such organizations. It has also worked closely together with the Mayor to help improve opportunities for youth in Waterbury and has requested the Mayor’s support for mentoring on this and other occasions. For more information on mentoring, please contact these local organizations or go to www.preventionworksct.org (Connecticut Mentoring Partnership) or www.mentoring.org (MENTOR, the National Mentoring Partnership).
On Wednesday May 28, 2008, the Mentor Task Force of the Waterbury Prevention Policy Board hosted an evening event to highlight the importance of mentoring in Waterbury. The event took place at the Mattatuck Museum, and was attended by more than 30 community members, organizations, and agencies. The Mentor Task Force is a coalition of local programs that offer mentoring to youngsters. . “Being a good mentor is easy but finding good mentors is hard,” explained Task Force Chairperson Nancy Vaughan. “People often worry they won’t know what to do or say or that the child won’t like them. The truth is you don’t need any special skills or talents. We provide all the training you need to get started. You just have to like kids and believe in them and be willing to share a part of your life with a child. Within just a short time, most adults agree they get as much or more out of the experience as the kids do.” Individuals or groups interested in learning about mentoring and mentoring opportunities in Waterbury came to the Museum for the evening reception and tour of the Mattatuck’s new exhibit, Coming Home: Building Community in a Changing World. The reception featured information on mentoring and showcased how mentoring is part of building a strong community in today’s changing world. The event was open to the public, and participating organizations such as CT Junior Republic, Big Brothers Big Sisters, and Boys to Men New England Mentoring network were there to answer questions and accept applications. Participants had the unique opportunity to speak to “real” mentors and their students and heard for themselves how rewarding mentoring is and how easy it is to be a part of a child’s success. “Many people think mentoring is a new concept, but the word “mentor” comes from the Greek language and has its roots in the words for steadfast and enduring,” explained Mrs. Vaughan. “The word became synonymous with one who is a wise teacher, a guide, a friend. There have been mentors throughout history, and chances are most people can identify someone who fulfilled that role for them – someone who inspired them or believed in them. That is what we asked our mentors to do for another generation of children.” The event was sponsored by an Urban Mentoring Initiative Grant through The Governor’s Prevention Partnership in conjunction with the Waterbury Prevention Policy Board and the Mattatuck
On Thursday March 27, 2008, approximately 20 parents and youth got together to talk about topics ranging from parent involvement and communication to family support and love. The Parent and Family Involvement Committee of the Prevention Policy Board hosted a Family Fun Night at Waterbury Youth Services. The goal of the evening was to learn more about what young people think and how they view family communication and positive support from their parents/guardians. The adults and young people competed against one another in a Family Feud style game. The evening was very successful and opened the lines of communication between parents/guardians and young people. Youth participants expressed how validating the evening was, and that it felt good to have their voice and opinion heard. As one participant explained, she has seen a difference in her 11 year old grandson. His behavior has changed for the better. He has become more of a team player in their family unit, and she feels that he has a greater appreciation and gratitude for the family that he is in. This grandmother stated that “This event made a difference to me. I am grateful for the transformation that happened as a result of the evening.” Archived Articles
The Waterbury Observer - February 2007 |
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