FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
CONTACT: Tom Ficklin, Ficklin Media Group, 203.768-3390
Curlena McDonald, Granville Academy 203.624-3923
Danny Newell, Empower New Haven 203.887-8737
TEENS TACKLE MOVING FROM SURVIVAL TO “THRIVAL”
Sixty teens between the ages of 13 and 19 from six of New Haven’s most economically and socially challenged neighborhoods located in the Empowerment Zone will convene at: Hill Regional Career High School
140 Legion Ave
New Haven, CT 06519
from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. for a Teen Encounter on Saturday February 7, 2009.
During the Encounter they will confront some of the most serious issues facing teens surviving in these neighborhoods. The event is sponsored in part by Empower New Haven, New Haven Public Schools and the City of New Haven.
Neighborhood Leadership Initiative, a Florida-based non-profit consulting with Empower New Haven will orchestrate the Encounter assisted by members of Dixwell, Dwight, Fair Haven, Hill and West Rock Neighborhood Management Teams.
Community leaders will join the teens beginning at 9:00 a.m. to identify and/or assess the magnitude of the challenges. Dr. Brian Perkins, Professor and Chair of the New Haven School Board will present the facts to the students in a morning session that will stir up the urgency of the matter. Other presenters include: Che Dawson, City of New Haven, Erik Clemons, LEAP, Dr. Reginald Mayo, Superintendent of Schools, and Gina Calder, Alderperson Ward 2. In the afternoon, the adults will depart and the teens will go behind closed doors and tackle the issues from their perspective. The afternoon dialogue will be facilitated by college students who have ‘beat the odds’ and attend prestigious colleges and universities throughout the Northeast. Adults and teens will re-convene for a special recognition ceremony and dinner to reflect on the activities of the day.
Teens and their facilitators have all completed a study series on change entitled "Our Iceberg is Melting" written by John Kotter, Professor and renowned change expert at Harvard Business School. The book, a fable about a colony of penguins living, unknowingly, on a cracked iceberg is about resistance to change. The fable brings to life Kotter’s pioneering work that shows how eight steps can produce needed change under any circumstances.
The teens will have outlined their urgent needs in an accompanying work book authored by Neighborhood Leadership Initiative. The Encounter will continue as these 60 teens go into their neighborhoods and serve in various community leadership roles assisted by life coaches. All of the teens will have to access to a 5-month follow-up program in life skills development. Upon completion they will host Encounter II in June and they will have the opportunity to invite their friends. Each teen will bring at least 10 friends to the process--THE POWER OF 10. This teen movement will change the landscape of the six neighborhoods. As the movement grows, more teens will be involved from throughout the city.
The event is free and open to teens only! Registration is required and there is a pre-requisite of reading assignments. All media are invited to attend. Complete media packets will be available that detail the activities of the day, pre-requisite endeavors, and future plans.
CONTACT: Tom Ficklin, Ficklin Media Group, 203.768-3390
Curlena McDonald, Granville Academy 203.624-3923
Danny Newell, Empower New Haven 203.887-8737
TEENS TACKLE MOVING FROM SURVIVAL TO “THRIVAL”
Sixty teens between the ages of 13 and 19 from six of New Haven’s most economically and socially challenged neighborhoods located in the Empowerment Zone will convene at: Hill Regional Career High School
140 Legion Ave
New Haven, CT 06519
from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. for a Teen Encounter on Saturday February 7, 2009.
During the Encounter they will confront some of the most serious issues facing teens surviving in these neighborhoods. The event is sponsored in part by Empower New Haven, New Haven Public Schools and the City of New Haven.
Neighborhood Leadership Initiative, a Florida-based non-profit consulting with Empower New Haven will orchestrate the Encounter assisted by members of Dixwell, Dwight, Fair Haven, Hill and West Rock Neighborhood Management Teams.
Community leaders will join the teens beginning at 9:00 a.m. to identify and/or assess the magnitude of the challenges. Dr. Brian Perkins, Professor and Chair of the New Haven School Board will present the facts to the students in a morning session that will stir up the urgency of the matter. Other presenters include: Che Dawson, City of New Haven, Erik Clemons, LEAP, Dr. Reginald Mayo, Superintendent of Schools, and Gina Calder, Alderperson Ward 2. In the afternoon, the adults will depart and the teens will go behind closed doors and tackle the issues from their perspective. The afternoon dialogue will be facilitated by college students who have ‘beat the odds’ and attend prestigious colleges and universities throughout the Northeast. Adults and teens will re-convene for a special recognition ceremony and dinner to reflect on the activities of the day.
Teens and their facilitators have all completed a study series on change entitled "Our Iceberg is Melting" written by John Kotter, Professor and renowned change expert at Harvard Business School. The book, a fable about a colony of penguins living, unknowingly, on a cracked iceberg is about resistance to change. The fable brings to life Kotter’s pioneering work that shows how eight steps can produce needed change under any circumstances. The teens will have outlined their urgent needs in an accompanying work book authored by Neighborhood Leadership Initiative. The Encounter will continue as these 60 teens go into their neighborhoods and serve in various community leadership roles assisted by life coaches. All of the teens will have to access to a 5-month follow-up program in life skills development. Upon completion they will host Encounter II in June and they will have the opportunity to invite their friends. Each teen will bring at least 10 friends to the process--THE POWER OF 10. This teen movement will change the landscape of the six neighborhoods. As the movement grows, more teens will be involved from throughout the city.
The event is free and open to teens only! Registration is required and there is a pre-requisite of reading assignments. All media are invited to attend. Complete media packets will be available that detail the activities of the day, pre-requisite endeavors, and future plans.
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