For more than a decade and a half, the Hopewell Valley Municipal Alliance has worked with the community to ensure youth in Hopewell Valley grow up to be caring, confident and responsible.
For more than a decade and a half, the Hopewell Valley Municipal Alliance has worked with the community to ensure youth in Hopewell Valley grow up to be caring, confident and responsible.
This community collaboration, known as Healthy Communities Healthy Youth, has supported the Search Institute’s 40 Developmental Asset framework since 1996.
The Alliance recently announced a new initiative — “Got Assets?” — which is a community-wide effort to raise awareness about what developmental assets can do for young people and their families.
These developmental assets are positive values, skills, experiences, relationships and behaviors that enable young people to develop into successful and contributing adults. This framework encourages leadership, success in school, service to others and a strong sense of self.
”Kids need these assets in their lives. It is our goal to help parents, schools, businesses and the community to build assets in our youth,” said Heidi Kahme, of the Hopewell Valley Municipal Alliance.
The Search Institute has surveyed more than 4 million children and youth with the results demonstrating that the more developmental assets a young person attains, the better their chances of success in school, exhibiting leadership, developing healthier behaviors and the less likely they will engage in at-risk behavior.
”We surveyed our students in May of 2012. We know what assets they have and where we need improvement. By introducing the ‘Got Assets?’ initiative to parents, schools and the community we can better support our youth,” added Ms. Kahme.
For more information on how to build assets in youth, contact the Municipal Alliance at 737-0120 x 642 or [email protected].
The Hopewell Valley Municipal Alliance is a volunteer community coalition of municipal leaders, schools, parents, health providers, business, faith, recreation and civic organizations that work together to address substance abuse issues and promote a healthy community and healthy youth in Hopewell Valley.