1. Special Edition: Youth
2. Juvenile Justice Council
3. Consortium For Family, School, Community Collaboration
4. Mom's Club
5. Alachua County Council Of Parent Teacher Associations, ACCPTA
6. Department Of Children And Families
7. Children's Services Council
8. Big Brothers, Big Sisters
9. The Girls Club Of Alachua County
10. Gainesville Association For The Creative Arts
+++
SPECIAL EDITION: YOUTH
Alachua County shortchanges everybody in its recreational opportunities. Seniors' health and medicine costs go down significantly with proper exercise and community support. Community interactions and recreation alleviate depression, expected to be the third leading cause of death in 20 years. Adults need stress-relieving outlets to juggle family, careers, and more. Neighbors, cultures, ages, and races need to interact, to understand each other. Recreation can improve all of the above. If you have information on any of the above, please contact me, and we'll print it.
My focus is children. Alachua County youth are challenged to become contributing adults without adequate school funding and outside support most communities consider vital. Check out a report on teen crime at http://user.gru.net/alilaw
Below I've listed a few groups that support children. Send me yours, and I'll post them, too.
At least 14 Florida counties have Children's Services Councils
that coordinate efforts and funding. Maybe it's time we activate
our own?
--Alison Law
+++
CHILDREN'S SERVICES COUNCIL
Alachua County DOES have a children's services council. It
was established about 10 years ago by county ordinance with special
support from Leveda Brown and other commissioners. Former PTA
council president Cindy Stern was a member. It never had any funds
and became moribund. There was an attempt to revive it about three
years ago, but Bob Hughes and Judy Brashear were opposed and never
attended meetings. Without school district support, the effort
died. To my knowledge, the ordinance never has been repealed.
--Tom Barnes Tom_Barnes@dcf.state.fl.us
+++
JUVENILE JUSTICE COUNCIL
A body of community leaders dedicated to the wellbeing of children and youth. Committed to the reduction of delinquency, dependency, and school suspensions, expulsions, and truancy in Alachua County. The Council is a mechanism to facilitate cooperation among schools, the Department of Children and Families, The Department of Juvenile Justice, law enforcement, the judicial system, service providers, businesses, community and religious leaders in their collective efforts to enhance public safety by strengthening families and instill within our youth the value of personal integrity.
Priorities for 1999-2001
1. Develop positive emotional, interpersonal and life skills in
youth.
2. Promote appropriate and timely sanctions for youth.
3. Support the SBAC in its efforts to address truancy and out-of-school
suspensions.
4. Improve public safety by reducing juvenile crime.
5. Enhance recreational activities for youth.
6. Improve substance abuse treatment services for youth.
7. Enhance school safety for a violence-free environment.
8. Improve educational alternatives for at-risk youth.
9. Promote accessible and affordable transportation services for
youth.
10. Develop a substance abuse program for youth using and/or affected
by substance abuse.
--Contact Karen Godley, kcgodley@aol.com, Jason Holthus, lyfizgud@aol.com
+++
CONSORTIUM FOR FAMILY, SCHOOL, COMMUNITY COLLABORATION
To promote the success of struggling elementary school students through the development and coordination of resources from schools, families, and the community.
Goals for 2001
The committee agreed to focus on after-school programs run by
SBAC and others. In particular, we'll be working on developing
programs and expanding training for workers in afterschool settings,
including attention to children's social and emotional development.
--Contact Buffy Bondy, <bondy@edu15.coe.ufl.edu>
+++
MOM'S CLUB
http://www.afn.org/~momsclub
The MOMS Club (Moms Offering Moms Support) is an international
non-profit organization with over 50,000 members and 1,000 chapters.
The organization helps at home mothers and their children by providing
them a way to meet, play and learn together.
--cmrmasio@msn.com 352-332-4074
+++
ALACHUA COUNTY COUNCIL OF PARENT TEACHER ASSOCIATIONS, ACCPTA
http://afn.org/~accpta
The objects of the PTA are to:
To promote the welfare of children and youth in home, school,
community, and place of worship.
To raise the standards of home life.
To secure adequate laws for the care and protection of children
and youth.
To bring into closer relation the home and school, that parents
and teachers may cooperate intelligently in the education of children
and youth.
To develop between educators and the general public such united
efforts as will secure for all children and youth the highest
advantages in physical, mental, social, and spiritual education.
The ACCPTA strengthens local units by unifying the efforts of local PTAs. ACCPTA acts as a channel of communication by relating crucial information, instruction, and news from the state and National PTAs to the member units. ACCPTA alerts local PTAs to pertinent state and national plans, helping to translate these plans into programs and projects serving the local community.
Through conferences and instructional meetings, the ACCPTA
enables PTA officers, chairpeople, and active members to exchange
ideas and plans, to benefit from one another's experiences in
PTA work, to learn new skills for leadership, and to receive training
for their specific responsibilities.
--Contact Mary Zinger, grzinger@aol.com, 378-9134.
+++
DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES
The Department of Children and Families mission is to work in partnership with local communities to ensure safety, well-being and self-sufficiency for the people it serves. Among our services:
Child welfare services- investigations of reports of abuse
and neglect,
Foster care, protective supervision and adoptions;
Services for children and adults with developmental disabilities;
Services for children and adults with mental illness and other
mental
health needs; and
Substance abuse prevention, intervention and treatment services
for children and adults.
--"Tom Barnes" Tom_Barnes@dcf.state.fl.us
+++
BIG BROTHERS, BIG SISTERS
http://www.bbbs-gville.org
The mission of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America is to make
a positive difference in the lives of children and youth, primarily
through a professionally supported one-to-one relationship with
a caring adult, and to assist them in achieving their highest
potential as they grow to become confident, competent, and caring
individuals, by providing committed volunteers, national leadership
and standards of excellence.
--Lori Pagliara, info@bbbs-gville.org
+++
THE GIRLS CLUB OF ALACHUA COUNTY
Our mission is to help girls achieve a sense of self worth & pride. We want our girls to reach their highest potential by exploring and nurturing their personal interests. The girls can work at developing lasting relationships that foster creativity, responsibility, integrity & compassion.
We provide Summer Day Camp, After School Program, Athletic Program & Specialty Classes.
We provide a safe, affordable program open until 6 pm for low income, working class families.
Our After School Program provides homework tutors, reading tutors, fun activities and specialty classes. Some of our specialty classes are piano lessons, Brownies, Jr. Girl Scouts.
Without the Girls Club many of these children would go home to empty houses with nothing interesting to do & could end up getting themselves into trouble.
Our goal is to improve the lives of these young girls, help
their parents in any way we can & in doing this provide a
great service to our community.
--Lynn Max girlsclb@gator.net Program Director
+++
GAINESVILLE ASSOCIATION FOR THE CREATIVE ARTS
http://www.afn.org/~gaca/
Getting All Children Into the Arts
GACA recognized the positive relationship among education in
the arts, academics, and self-esteem. In small workshops, usually
8 to 10 children, GACA creates a non-pressured atmosphere where
creativity can flourish.
Norma M. Homan, 378-9166, shakes@ufl.edu William J. Eyerly, 378-9138.
+++
Thank you,
Alison
**In a radio address on March 12, 1943, during Germany's raids
on London, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill said: "There
is no finer investment for any community than putting milk into
babies. Healthy citizens are the greatest asset any country can
have."
--Jack Levine, "Center for Florida's Children" <center@floridakids.com>