Youth

Puget SoundOff and Metrocenter YMCA have a unique opportunity for youth ages 14-19:

Enjoy learning about technology? Want to make a difference in your community?

The YMCA of Greater Seattle and One Economy Digital Connector program will provide a unique opportunity to serve your community, learn technology skills and practice leadership skills.

Seattle-area youth ages 14-19 are eligible to participate.

• Increase your computer and internet knowledge
• Promote technology in your community
• Learn entrepreneurship and life skills
• Receive a Cisco I.T. essentials certificate
• Receive an Ever-Fi Financial certificate
• Build multimedia portfolio
• HAVE FUN!

In exchange for your participation, successful graduates of the program will receive a $500 stipend, laptop computer and other incentives for participating. You can download the application here - it includes more information about the program and instructions for returning the application.

Nearly 900 of you watched Seattle Speaks about marijuana policy live online last night. 120 of you were there in person at Town Hall. And over 400 emailed, commented or participated in online polls before and during the show. Did you tune in? If not - never fear - it's not too late to learn more, connect and take action on this issue!

Follow this link to watch the show:
http://www.seattlechannel.org/videos/video.asp?ID=3381001

moderator C.R. Douglas kicks off the show.

Learn more, connect and take action*:
ACLU of Washington | www.aclu-wa.org
Casey Family Program | www.casey.org
Cannabis Defense Coalition | www.cdc.coop
The Hemp and Cannabis Foundation | www.thc-foundation.com/Washington
King County Bar Association Drug Policy Project | www.kcba.org/druglaw
LEAP (Law Enforcement Against Prohibition) | www.leap.cc
The Matt Talbot New Hope Recovery Center | www.mtcenter.org
NORML | www.norml.org
Ryan’s Solution Foundation | www.ryanssolution.com
SAMA (Science and Management of Addictions) Foundation | www.samafoundation.org
Seattle Hempfest | www.hempfest.org
Sensible Washington I-1068 | www.sensiblewashington.org
Southwest Youth and Family Services | www.swyfs.org
Washington State Department of Health | www.doh.wa.gov/hsqa/medical-marijuana/
YMCA of Greater Seattle | www.seattleymca.org

*This listing is not exhaustive. We encourage you to get involved and learn more.

What do you think?

Tracking audience opinion during the show.

Do you favor the legalization of marijuana in Washington for adults? Do you think it's addictive? Are there other concerns or benefits we should know about? Do you know of resources we haven't listed above that others might find helpful?

At the end of the work day yesterday, Mayor McGinn pushed out a video regarding the process of gathering community input on the Youth and Families Initiative. We tweeted it as soon as the press release came through our inboxes, but wanted to give an extra push to the dates of the public "engagement meetings" - the ones where you actually get to tell the mayor what you think.

Yes, the rumor is true: our Youth Violence program with Seattle Channel at Town Hall tonight is sold out. The interactivity of the event involves electronic voting machines - and there are only so many to go around.

However, not being in the live audience does not mean you can't participate. We've heard of several "viewing parties" - organizations getting youth together in a place where they can participate online.

All of the questions our host, C.R. Douglas, asks our live audience, will also be posed to online participants as well. This program is being broadcast live and online - meaning you can stream it real-time at www.SeattleChannel.org or on Cable 21.

This program is called "Seattle Speaks" for a reason. Your thought counts! We want to know what you think about youth violence in Seattle. The Seattle Channel can also take questions from online participants - check their website to find out how. ("Youth Violence" is on the front page of their website.) Please join us! (And, since it'll probably be raining, you can go home, snuggle up in your pajamas with a hot beverage, and still be engaged online!)

7:00 p.m. is our start time, and as always, we'll see what we can tweet over at @CityClubLive.

Over the course of the Community Matters Campaign (CMC) this fall, we've convened hundreds of participants – both online and face-to-face – in community conversations about this year's theme: education and economic opportunity. During these sessions, participants voted on what they thought was the best strategy for working toward solutions to issues in these two areas. (We also offered the opportunity to vote on our webpage and at our events during CMC.)

They responded 2-1 in favor of the following two strategies outlined in the The Seattle Foundation's Healthy Community Report:

• Involve families and communities in student achievement and aspirations
• Increase support for high-quality public schools

The CMC Steering Committee - made up of representatives from CityClub, Communities Count, Executive Service Corps, The Seattle Foundation, Seattle Works, United Way of King County, and the YMCA of Greater Seattle - chose 6 winners based on these two strategies.

Our winner selection demonstrates the ecology of community engagement needed to make a difference. The People’s Choice Awardees represent a spectrum of organization format, scale and focus. One is a recently emerged organic and quickly changing organization formed by and for youth. Another unites youth and parents. Others bring diverse community sectors together to foster change and opportunity. Still others work on the systemic level through policy development and advocacy. It’s together - across these various modes of organization and action - that change can be created and sustained in our community.

We invite you to join us - as well as Eric Liu of the Guiding Lights Network and Norman B. Rice of The Seattle Foundation - in celebrating the diverse and dynamic organizations that make up the 2009 People’s Choice Award winners on the evening of November 16 from 6-8pm at City Hall in Seattle. Click here to learn more, and sign up now! (I should mention there will be cake. And hot cocoa!) Here's a snapshot from last year's party:



MAD (Making A Difference) – MAD is a newly emergent youth led non-violence group whose mission is to advocate for victims of violence. (MAD currently has no website)

Puget Sound Off (PSO) – Eighteen area teens came together in the Summer of 2007 to design the Puget Sound Off website after gathering input from 180 peers, including the Mayor's Youth Council. PSO’s mission is to provide youth with a forum for discussion, artistic expression, and action as a way to empower and encourage youth to have a strong voice. The project aims be a catalyst for increasing youth involvement and engagement within the community while encouraging expression of one's beliefs, respect for others, and commitment to public service.

Para Los Niños - Para Los Niños is a grassroots community organization founded by members of the community it serves—the growing immigrant, Spanish-speaking population in South King County. Para Los Niños builds a healthy community with a focus on Latino immigrants. It supports holistic, family-based educational opportunities and builds lasting community networks.

4C Coalition - 4C is an acronym for Clergy, Community, and Children/Youth Coalition. In partnership with King County Superior Court, 4C provides mentors to young persons involved in the juvenile justice system. The 4C Coalition is not a program to solve a problem, but a process to provide possibilities: mentors to youth, church and community resources to families, and a united voice to the community and government agencies to educate and effectively address youth issues.

SOAR - A community coalition dedicated to building partnerships that support the healthy development and success of children, youth and families in King County. SOAR connects, convenes and catalyzes communities around common goals and strategies and strives to create alignment between systems, sectors, organizations, providers and practice.

League of Education Voters - The League works to improve Washington’s public schools through a grassroots statewide network of advocates. Its mission is to make Washington’s preschools, public schools, and colleges the best in the nation. Its goals are:

• Every child reads by the third grade, with more attention to early learning and the role of parents.
• Every child is taught by an excellent teacher. Like all professionals, teachers deserve ongoing mentoring and training.
• Every child graduates from high school ready for college, work, and life. Standards for high school graduation must align with college entrance requirements.
• All students master the math and science they need to succeed in our technology-driven economy.
• More investment in our children’s education, but also more accountability to ensure all children succeed.

Congratulations to all our winners!

As we're talking with youth and working with Puget Sound Off during the 2009 Community Matters Campaign, one thing we're hearing is that youth violence is a big issue for them.

In a recent blog post at Puget Sound Off, a young person expresses confusion that no one seems to be paying attention to the issue. "I hear how there are concerns but when a event is thrown for our Youth there is no one present to show their concern. Why is this?" This person was out marching for friends who have experienced violence, and was met with rows empty chairs. Read the whole blog here.

Stay tuned (and save the date!) for more information about an upcoming program CityClub is doing with The Seattle Channel on this topic: "Seattle Speaks: Youth Violence" coming on Tuesday, November 10.

As education is a focus of CMC this year, we also wanted to share another great video put together by youth technology interns at the YMCA of Greater Seattle.