Youth Friends was established in 2000 and currently has had 1142 volunteers in Reno County who have given 58,195 hours of service to the schools – which comes to a huge $1,085,938.80 dollars worth of service.  I have been a Youth Friend volunteer for nine years at Graber Elementary and it is a wonderful experience.  A school staff survey indicated that through this program 86% of students served last year showed improved grades and 89% of students served showed improved interaction with others.  Better citizens are to come due to this program – but again, we volunteers get so much out of the program – I appreciate the kids, the accomplishments they make and the teachers and the school system after I have volunteered.  I highly recommend it to all.  One hour a week is so little time to give.

An organization that teams up with Youth Friends and accomplishes great things also is Communities that Care with a goal to help individuals to have the opportunity to develop a safe and caring community through positive relationships with healthy beliefs and clear standards.  Again, USD 308 has been a huge supporter of this program and it is now reaching out to other districts.  It is a proven statistic that students from communities that have this program were 27% less likely to initiate delinquent behavior during grades 6 and7 than were students from control communities.  They have great programs such as Strengthening Families working with kids from ages 10-14 and Lifeskills to address pro-social skills such resolving conflicts, coping with anger, coping with anxiety and being assertive; plus they are now working with a grant to conquer the underage drinking problem.  Their Youth Leadership Program has been very successful.  I am currently a board member on this organization.

A reception was held last night to celebrate the accomplishments of these two great organizations at First National Bank and brought together lots of people.  I sat there and looked around and smiled.  It was great seeing educators, administrators from USD 308, staff from both Youth Friends and Communities that Care, Mayor of Hutchinson, County Commissioners, news media, lots of volunteers and children – great group, people that care and appreciate the work being done.  I was glad I was a part of it – come join us – it’s just a little part you can do!