4-H Camp in Milan on a Sunny Day

Some things stay the same.

Photos include the inside of a cabin at the 4-H Camp in Milan; a youth playing ball and the dinning room all shiny and new.

Summer camping and out of school activities are important for young people. Camp counselors provide an important role model that makes a difference in lives.

Everyone needs some "green time" outdoors. It's a wonderful way to spend part of the summer.

Strategic Planning Day A Success

Members of the Juvenile Justice Project met on July 27th at the 4-H Camp in Milan to review the group's Strategic Plan. After a successful meeting, members convened outside to have a tour of the facility by Larry Barker, UNH Cooperative Extension Youth Educator. Elaine Davis, Tom Austin, Tami Hartley, Rich Sarette and Kristi Hannigan listen in.

Juvenile Justice Project Strategic Planning Meeting July 27th

The Juvenile Justice Project will be meeting this coming Monday, July 27th from 8:30 to 10:30 am at the 4-H Camp.

Directions there are to travel to Berlin on Rte 16 or 2 and from Berlin travel west on Rte. 110 for about 7 miles. Turn left at the Berlin Fish Hatchery sign into York Pond Road. Follow the paved road into the White Mountain National Forest. Continue until you pass the gate to the Berlin Fish Hatchery. Go over Cold Brook on a small bridge then take a right entering the parking lot. The camp is at the other end of the parking lot.

We will be reviewing our strategic plan and share some reports on the recent needs assessment.
Hope to see you there!

Valerie

What is Mentoring?

" A mentor is an trusted adult friend with a long-term, consistent committment to provide guidance and support to youth. Formal mentoring programs focus on supporting the relationship between mentor and youth (mentee) and developing the character and capabilities of the young person. (From www.youthmentoring.org.)

Mentors may be adults or older teens. They may volunteer in schools, as coaches in sports, at recreation centers, churches, 4-H, Girl and Boy Scouts, after out of school school programs and other venues. Although long term relationships are optimal, sometimes a short time relationship with a significant adult can provide youth with a powerful role model that may last a lifetime.

Resiliency literature has indicated that many times the relationship with an important adult has made all the difference in terms of a young person's chosing to live a healthier life style and making better decisions. "Caring" is very important but other factors are equally important such as modeling clear thinking, positive beliefs and values, appreciating the importance of discipline and support.

The North Country Youth Mentoring Project Collaboration will be providing information and training on many of these important factors in addition to risk management of volunteers, normal youth development, engaging youth in decision making, supporting youth leadership development and other skills building elements. Stay tuned.

Welcome to the Juvenile Justice Youth Mentoring Project

Welcome to the Juvenile Justice Project (JJP) Youth Mentoring Blog. The JJP is a collaboraton established in New Hampshire's North Country in order to prevent youth court petitions and is an active working group of the area's Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition and initiative of North Country Health Consortium.

The Youth Mentoring Collaboration is supported by a grant from the NH Charitable Foundation and the Tillotson Fund. It is the result of an assessment process that identified the needs of local organizations that supported adult mentoring of youth and wanted to share ideas and efforts at volunteer recruitment, retention, protocols, training, and celebration. An important element of the Collaboration is to establish a Volunteer Mentor Clearing House to inform interested community members of where volunteers are needed.

It's hoped that this blog will be used for communicating developments for and by members of the Collaboration; for meeting and training information; as a resource for information on mentoring and mentoring best practices; and to celebrate our youth mentoring organizations and those volunteers who have taken time to support and celebrate our young people. It will also be a vehicle to share concerns and questions regarding youth mentoring and hopefully provide a platform for the sharing of tips and ideas.