Minnesota Alliance With Youth

Minnesota Alliance With Youth is seeking a Director of Youth Policy Initiatives.

Position Overview

The mission of the Minnesota Alliance With Youth is to ignite the spark in all young people to become actively engaged, develop strong voices, and acquire the skills needed for success in school, work, and life.  The Director of Youth Policy Initiatives will develop a replicable model for quality youth engagement and sustainable youth adult partnerships at a statewide and local level. The Director will lead in building a foundation for youth to advance as leaders in civic, political, and philanthropic fields. The scope of work includes the oversight and expansion of the current Minnesota Youth Council to become a statewide infrastructure for youth voice.  In addition, provide training and technical assistance to expand the capacity of other youth councils and youth development staff.

POSITION DESCRIPTION

To apply, interested candidates must provide a cover letter, resume, three references, and two writing samples (10 pages or less).  Please send all required materials electronically to Libby Rau lrau@mnyouth.net  include in the subject line Director of Youth Policy Initiatives.

Application Deadline: Friday, June 1, 2012

ST. PAUL, MINN. (April 4, 2012) – Minnesota Alliance With Youth, an organization committed to advocating with and for youth to ensure that all young people in Minnesota have access to the fundamental resources they need to be successful, will host a Global Youth Service Day celebration on Saturday, April 14, from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Mall of America’s main Rotunda in Bloomington, Minn.  The event, intended for children of all ages and their families, will feature youth performers, entertainment, prizes, and on-site service projects.  More information about the celebration can be found on the organization’s website, www.mnyouth.net.

Global Youth Service Day, held in 100 countries, involves millions of youth globally. This annual event highlights and celebrates the contributions of youth to their respective communities through volunteer service; supports youth on a life-long path of service and civic engagement; and educates the public, the media, and policymakers about the year-round leadership and community contributions of young people. Minnesota consistently leads the service movement nationally, with the most youth service projects registered at www.gysd.org.

The Global Youth Service Day celebration at the Mall of America is sponsored by Minnesota Alliance With Youth in partnership with Delta Dental of Minnesota and Youth Service America. Talented young people will perform while on-site service projects supporting local and global concerns will be carried out. Youth from Journeys Secondary School in St. Paul and The A-List (Brooklyn Park) will be featured, as well as hip hop/spoken word, Aztec dance performers, and dance of many types!  Scheduled youth performances also include: Minneapolis group “BARS & MEASURES”, Sojourner Truth Academy’s Step Team – “Lil’ Soujas”, El Colegio Charter School’s Lyrics and Beats club, and more! 

In support of Global Youth Service Day, Delta Dental of Minnesota also recognizes the winners of its 9^th annual Serve A Smile mini-grants program, with more than $30,000 donated to support 40 youth-led service projects in Minnesota taking place over the week. One recipient, Northwest Youth and Family Services (NYFS) STEP program, will host a Healthy STEP Community Health & Wellness Fair at New Brighton’s Family Service Center on Saturday, April 21^st, 11-5pm in the Discovery Center at Northwest Youth and Family Services. “Youth involved have gained an excellent understanding of how they’re helping individuals and their communities.  Delta Dental’s funding provides critical support to help make the student’s volunteer work successful,” Holly Walters, AmeriCorps Promise Fellow at NYFS.  The event will feature health and wellness practitioners, education and activities for families. “Kids Who Care” hygiene kits will be assembled and donated to a local emergency shelter. The Healthy STEP Fair is open to the public.

 President and CEO of Minnesota Alliance With Youth, Sarah Dixon shares, “Global Youth Service Day is a wonderful opportunity for us to celebrate the meaningful commitments area youth make to volunteer service. We’re excited to honor the many young people who contribute to the well-being of our communities with an event that is truly designed with them in mind.”

About the Minnesota Alliance With Youth

Founded in 1997, the Alliance is Minnesota’s leading convener, collaborator and capacity-builder for youth development. The Alliance seeks to strengthen youth success in school and learning, increase youth engagement in communities, develop and magnify youth voice, and advance collaboration and innovation with entities that share our vision. The Alliance is the Minnesota affiliate of the America’s Promise Alliance and contributes resources to schools, communities and partner organizations across the state in the form of 116 AmeriCorps Promise Fellows.

For more information about Minnesota Alliance With Youth or Global Youth Service Day, visit www.mnyouth.net. 

Delta Dental of Minnesota Contact:
Dana Jensen, djensen@deltadentalmn.org
Office: 651-994-5002

April 4, 2012 (EAGAN, Minn.) – Delta Dental of Minnesota, in collaboration with the Minnesota Alliance With Youth (the Alliance) and Minnesota FCCLA (Family, Career and Community Leaders of America), announces that the company has awarded more than $30,000 in annual youth service mini grants and in-kind donations¹. The competitive-based grants are awarded through Delta Dental’s Serve a Smile mini grant program which promotes youth volunteer activities coinciding with Global Youth Service Day on April 14-22.

Click here for a list of grant winners and a description of their projects.

“This year many of the Serve a Smile projects continue to incorporate oral health education and awareness, in addition to nutrition and exercise,” said Ann Johnson, Executive Director of Delta Dental of Minnesota Trust and Director of Community Affairs at Delta Dental of Minnesota. “These Serve a Smile projects support our mission of improving health and increasing health literacy.”

“Serve a Smile is based on the belief that when creative and resourceful youth volunteers are given an opportunity to participate in public service initiatives with their family, friends, school and community leaders, they can contribute in meaningful ways to help solve community issues,” continued Johnson.

Global Youth Service Day is the largest youth service event in the world, involving over 3 million youth in service projects. While celebrated in over 100 countries in every region of the world, Minnesota ranks among the top three states for number of service projects in support of Global Youth Service Day.

“Once again, we are very excited to partner with Delta Dental of Minnesota and FCCLA for the ninth year on this important initiative,” said Sarah Dixon, President & CEO, Minnesota Alliance With Youth. “Through our work across Minnesota, we know that when young people are actively engaged and contributing members of their communities, the possibilities are endless and produce amazing results such as increases in high school graduation and service to their community.” Dixon said.

“Minnesota is fortunate to have such outstanding youth organizations with a deep understanding of the needs of children, families and community and strong track records in providing programs and services that make a difference. Delta Dental of Minnesota is pleased to be able to help these organizations carry out their vital work” said Johnson. 

¹ In-kind donations include items such as children’s toothbrushes, adult toothbrushes, toothpaste, dental floss and oral health educational materials geared toward specific populations.

About Delta Dental of Minnesota

Delta Dental of Minnesota’s oral health initiatives are part of its tax-exempt mission to provide educational information and support community programs that help enhance the oral health of all Minnesotans. An independent, tax-exempt health services company, we take seriously our mission to serve Minnesotans’ oral health needs. Since 1969, we’ve accomplished this mission by providing the best access across the state to oral health care through affordable dental plans. For more information, visit www.deltadentalmn.org. Delta Dental is a registered mark of Delta Dental Plans Association. Delta Dental of Minnesota is an independent tax-exempt dental services company and is an authorized licensee of the Delta Dental Plans Association of Oak Brook, Illinois.

About the Minnesota Alliance With Youth

Founded in 1997, the Alliance is Minnesota’s leading convener, collaborator and capacity-builder for youth development. The Alliance seeks to strengthen youth success in school and learning, increase youth engagement in communities, develop and magnify youth voice, and advance collaboration and innovation with entities that share our vision. The Alliance is the Minnesota affiliate of the America’s Promise Alliance and contributes resources to schools, communities and partner organizations across the state in the form of 116 AmeriCorps Promise Fellows.

For more information about Minnesota Alliance With Youth or Global Youth Service Day, visit www.mnyouth.net. 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

“One Voice” video campaign aims to keep youth in school

ST. PAUL, MINN. (March 19, 2012) A youth-driven public awareness campaign was launched in March using internet videos and public service announcements on public television stations statewide to address the importance of staying in school. The videos are available at http://mnyouth.net. 

The Minnesota Alliance With Youth (Alliance) and Twin Cities Public Television (tpt), in collaboration with the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE), are proud to present the “One Voice” video campaign.  “The most powerful and unique part of this campaign is hearing from the voices of our young people directly. They speak very openly and honestly about what young people really need in order to be successful.  We very intentionally created this unique partnership with youth and adults, in order to have a more unified shared voice in addressing this critical issue,” said Sarah Dixon, CEO and President of the Alliance.

At a February premier celebration of the videos, one of the students described the achievement gap and dropout problem as “the civil rights issue of our generation.” Each year more than 10,000 youth in Minnesota drop out of school, and Minnesota’s academic achievement gap has grown to one of the largest in the nation. The partners hope the messages will help all youth stay in school and close the gap.

Education Commissioner Brenda Cassellius stresses the importance of high quality education for all youth.  “Minnesota’s economic future and quality of life depend on making sure every student is well prepared for college or career. Governor Dayton and I are committed to making real progress to close Minnesota’s unacceptable achievement gap, including improving our graduation rates. We welcome the voices of the outstanding young people who are speaking directly to their peers about the importance of staying in school.”

Some of the videos will appear on tpt MN (2-2 in the Twin Cities) and on the Minnesota Channel state-wide.  “The unique element about this project is that it’s created not only for youth, but by youth,” said Kathleen O’Donnell, Director of Children’s and Family Programming and Engagement for tpt. tpt staff worked with members of the Alliance’s Minnesota Youth Council to determine the messages they hope will keep students from dropping out of high school. “By providing their personal perspective, youth involved in the project seek to communicate the message to those who need to hear it most: those not currently engaged in school,” added Dixon.

Youth Council members are featured in the videos describing personal, poignant stories about the value of education. The videos were not pre-scripted because it was important to the youth that the messages be extremely authentic.

The videos also feature two current state legislators. In January, Minnesota Youth Council members Esther Lee of Chaska and Jem Nelson of Minnetonka met with and interviewed Representative Paul Marquart and Senator Chuck Wiger. Both are passionate about students staying in school, but for very different reasons. Marquart is a teacher with a history of educators in his family. Wiger was a dropout himself. He returned to school after learning for himself the importance of education. Both Lee and Nelson were impressed by each legislator’s commitment to youth and education. “I was very surprised and encouraged by the energy that both Senator Wiger and Representative Marquart had when talking about the importance of youth voice in legislation,” said Lee.    

Production of the videos was funded by a grant from the National Center for Media Engagement. The “One Voice” project is part of a nationwide public media initiative that addresses the dropout crisis called “American Graduate: Let’s Make it Happen” which is funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). CPB, in partnership with America’s Promise Alliance and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is working with public media stations in 20 “Hub Markets” where the dropout crisis is most acute to raise awareness of the issue and coordinate action with community partners – all with the goal of helping students stay on course to graduate from high school.

The videos are available at http://mnyouth.net.  Read more about the Minnesota Youth Council at http://mnyouth.net/council.

About the Minnesota Alliance With Youth

Founded in 1997, the Alliance is Minnesota’s leading convener, collaborator and capacity-builder for youth development. The Alliance seeks to strengthen youth success in school and learning, increase youth engagement in communities, develop and magnify youth voice, and advance collaboration and innovation with entities that share our vision.

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Promise Press Winter Edition

Inside this issue:

The Alliance is growing and making a difference
Sarah Dixon, President and CEO reflects on our growth (45%!), the “Multi-tiered Approach”, our “With Youth” philosophy and partners.

Multi-Tiered Approach
A data driven, evidence based model for youth success! Read more about what it is and how it works!

Progress…Measuring Success!
Learn about the impact Promise Fellows have made in Northfield, MN. The Latino population graduation rate skyrocketed from 36% to 90%! With our new Multi-tiered approach and data collecting program we will be able to show with certainty the extra capacity and support our AmeriCorps Promise Fellows provide makes an impact!

Youth Day at the Capitol
Hundreds of youth filled the State Capitol for meetings with Legislators. This event was sponsored by the Youth Policy Alliance, of which the Alliance is a member.

Video Campaign aims to keep youth in school
The Alliance and tpt in collaboration with the Minnesota Department of Education launched a youth-driven “by youth, for youth” public awareness campaign emphasizing the importance of staying in school.

2011 Lt. Governor’s Red Wagon Awards
6 organizations and 10 individuals were recognized September for showing any of the following: increased academic achievement, civic engagement & service and exemplary leadership. The Otto Bremer Foundation was honored with the Star Partner Award.

Spotlights
A closer look at AmeriCorps Promise Fellows, Alumni, Youth and Communities from around the state of Minnesota.

Promise Fellow Alum Rose Teng reflects on how her current work is an extension of her year of service.

AmeriCorps Promise Fellow Vanessa Nesbitt give us a “day in the life” view of her responsibilities as an AmeriCorps member. Learn what she does, how she’s making an impact and why she chose to serve!

Youth Council member Christian Anderson shares his story about disengaging from school and his journey back to engagement and beyond!

2012 Youth Day at the Capitol

February 21, 2012 (St. Paul, Minn.) – Minnesota’s youth converged on the State Capitol on Tuesday and legislators took notice. Enthusiastic young leaders from all four corners of the state spent the day educating and meeting with representatives about issues impacting youth. In particular, youth and their adult advocates discussed the benefits of comprehensive youth development policies. The event was hosted by the Youth Policy Alliance, which the Minnesota Alliance With Youth (the Alliance) is a partner.

Minnesota Youth Council
With more than 200 youth participating in the day, the Alliance’s Minnesota Youth Council (MYC) was a key to the event’s success. MYC’s primary Youth Day at the Capitol goal was to continue dialogue between youth and elected officials, but youth were also at the Capitol to advocate for strong education programs. “We believe investment in youth is an investment in a healthy Minnesota,” said Sarah Dixon, CEO and president of the Alliance. “Virtually every Minnesotan in every part of the state stands to benefit when the next generation of young adults is better prepared to contribute and participate in our economy and community life.” MYC provides youth with opportunities to discuss and take action on policy issues, and advise the work of the Minnesota Alliance With Youth and its partners.

Two experiences
Nadine Rosas Pfliego, a junior at Northfield High School met with Rep. Kelby Woodard. She plans to write a thank you note that also urges him to support AmeriCorps Promise Fellows to be placed at more schools in Minnesota. “Promise Fellows aren’t just there to help with (school work),” she says, “They support us when we don’t have anyone else.” Nadine was close to dropping out of high school last year, in part because her parents don’t speak much English and have difficulty helping her with school. Promise Fellows “supported me and motivated me to get through. Right now I don’t think I’d be in school if not for Promise Fellows.”

Ananaya Alwal, a senior at Worthington High School, was at the Capitol with students Apoman Abella, David Alatorre, Adyiam Kimbrough and Promise Fellow Gloria Alatorre. This was Ananaya’s second Youth Day at the Capitol experience speaking with her legislator, Rep. Rod Hamilton. She advocated for continued support for the Nobles County Integration Collaborative, telling Hamilton that she benefited greatly from a bus tour across Iowa and Illinois last summer where students did a service project in a different city each day. “We accomplished more in one week than many other students do in a year,” she said. The Collaborative also provides resources such as help with college applications, studying for the ACT test and career decision-making through job shadowing and business tours.

Photos are at http://mnyouth.net/

About the Minnesota Alliance With Youth
Founded in 1997, the Alliance is Minnesota’s leading convener, collaborator and capacity-builder for youth development. The Alliance seeks to strengthen youth success in school and learning, increase youth engagement in communities, develop and magnify youth voice, and advancing networking, collaboration, and innovation with entities that share our vision.

Partners in the Youth Policy Alliance are:
• Minnesota Alliance With Youth
• Mentoring Partnership of Minnesota
• Minnesota Workforce Council Association
• Minnesota Youth Intervention Programs Association
• Minnesota Juvenile Justice Advisory Committee
• Youthprise

Watch Senator Klobuchar’s message for Youth about Youth Day at the Capitol!

Youth Day at the Capitol is Tuesday, February 21st. The day is brought to you by the Youth Policy Alliance. For more information and to get involved visit the Youth Day at the Capitol website.

The Minnesota Alliance With Youth is pleased to invite schools, community organizations, government agencies, and others to submit a proposal to host AmeriCorps Promise Fellows.  In order to ensure all youth achieve success in school, work, and life, we focus on four strategies: 1) strengthening youth success in school and learning, 2) increasing youth contribution through service & leadership opportunities, 3) developing and magnifying youth voice, and 4) promoting collaboration and innovation. Our goal is to ensure every young person graduates school ready for college, work, and life and has a vision for their future.

As a leading affiliate of America’s Promise Alliance, we actively participate in the Grad Nation movement, a national effort to end the high school dropout crisis and prepare young people for college and the 21^st century workforce.  We believe AmeriCorps members can be part of Minnesota’s long-term strategy to address our graduation crisis by providing evidenced-based supports to youth in grades 6-10.

AmeriCorps Promise Fellows focus their service on working with youth who are at risk of dropping out of school in grades 6-10. Fellows serve youth in both school and community-based settings.
Fellows provide researched-based interventions that focus on promoting and improving attendance, behavior, and school success. Promise Fellows tap into resources in both schools and community settings:

• Caring Adults:  Increase the number of significant caring adult relationships experienced by youth participants
• High Quality In & Out of School Supports:Implement high quality in school and out of school time activities to support academic enrichment, study skills practice, career exploration, etc.
• Service-Learning: Actively engage youth in meaningful service-learning or civic engagement activities

With support from their Host Site and other community & school partners, Promise Fellows develop, plan, organize, and implement programs to support young people, mobilize adult volunteers, and strengthen service-learning in communities.  Utilizing AmeriCorps Promise Fellows can be a cost effective way for organizations to deliver meaningful and necessary interventions, and serve additional youth.

To apply to become a Host Site, organizations must complete an application as outlined in the Request for Proposals (available online at www.mnyouth.net).  A Webinar will be held Monday, January 30^th at 2 pm to provide technical assistance and support to sites prior to submitting an application (RSVP to Melissa Burwell, mburwell@mnyouth.net).

Completed Host Site Applications are due postmarked Friday, March 2, 2012.

For more information about the Alliance or the application process, please contact Melissa Burwell, Director of Strategic Initiatives, mburwell@mnyouth.net, cell: 612-616-2574, office: 651-528-8561.