When the Helping Canadian Kids Thrive conference comes to Regina next weekend, there will be a small but significant contingent of representatives from St. Albert in attendance.
The team of five youths won’t just be watching the show billed as the only national conference dedicated to positive youth development in the country. They get to be the guest speakers. Lindsay Cox, Tiffany Cimolai, Shaylyn Hunter, Mitch Lohmeier, and Brent Saccucci are all members of Building Assets and Memories (BAM). That Youth for Youth group is committed to involving their peers in creating solutions and activities to build the 40 Developmental Assets, an enrichment program promoted by The Search Institute out of the United States.
Ben Huising, the community resource co-ordinator with Family and Community Support Services and the adult co-ordinator with BAM, sees this as an affirmation of the initiatives and progress being made in this city. It all adds up to another win for the team.
“We see the impact they’ve made but for the youths themselves, I don’t think they see the big picture yet. This is helping them see the big picture, maybe more than we realized.”
For Grade 11 students Lohmeier and Saccucci, this is a once in a lifetime chance to prove that the 40 assets program has given them what it takes to be successful people. Members of their group have attended previous editions of this conference like last year’s event held in St. Albert, but they will be the first ones to stand up and speak to the attendees.
“This is a bigger [conference] and we’re going to present our side of the 40 assets,” Lohmeier said. “We’ve got a few exciting ideas.”
He’s only been a member since September but he has already seen changes in himself. Saccucci’s experience has been much the same since he first joined BAM two years ago. He’s already made a few presentations to city council and public groups about the program.
“It’s definitely a big deal because this is the first thing that St. Albert has really seen as the first steps of leadership within the community. We used to have a youth council and they did stuff like build the skatepark but this is the first time that we brought the initiatives and put them into action. It’s exciting to be a part of it.”
Asset development is a philosophy surrounding the relationships, opportunities and qualities youth need. The 40 Developmental Assets themselves comprise a kind of psychological compendium of attitudes and experiences that youth need to lead successful lives while avoiding risk-taking behaviours.
The five representatives will discuss how they got involved in promoting asset development, what they are doing to connect with other youths and how the experience of being involved with BAM has influenced their own lives.
For more information about the local program and its support, please visit www.stalbert.ca/40-developmental-assets. Details about the conference can be found at www.lionsquest.ca.
