December 2002
PYP's Youth Advisory Council was featured in the Ajo Copper News for their work on creating a pollinating garden. See the news clipping, and read more about the community service project. The youth had a great time beautifying their area while contributing to their community and its butterfly habitat!
Mark your calendars now -- February 16th, 2003 is PYP's 6th Annual Sweetheart Poker Run. The entry fee is $10, which includes a limited edition Poker Run pin. The highest scoring hand will win $400; the lowest will win $100.
Featured in the December 9th issue of Newsweek are teens around the nation who are choosing virginity and learning that "not everybody is doing it". Pat Merrill, PYP's Teen Pregnancy Prevention Educator, provided Newsweek correspondent, Debra Rosenberg, with a first-hand look at the "Sex Can Wait" curriculum taught in schools around Pima County. Ms. Rosenberg's story is here. The Newsweek cover story is here.
New officers will be installed at PYP's 12th annual meeting to be held on November 21, 2002. They are:
Bill Holmes... President
Rochelle Swanson... President Elect
Norma Morales-Rojas... Secretary
Hilary Madrid... Treasurer
PYP's 12th Annual Meeting is taking place on November 21st at the Elk's Lodge (2404 East River Road) in Tucson from 5:30-7:30pm. Highlights of this year's meeting include:
The cost is $30 per person. Please
RSVP by November 16th to 744-9595. Directions to the Elk's Lodge can be
found here,
or by calling (520) 299-5105.
Our Executive Director, Dr. Wagner, attended the 81st Arizona Town Hall on Arizona's Hispanics: The Evolution of Influence held at the Grand Canyon from October 27-30, 2002. She, along with 132 other participants, discussed questions about education, drop out rates, immigration, labor force issues, and language issues.
PYP was awarded $120,499 grant from the Governor's Office on Drug Policy to provide life skills programs to Yaqui youth aged 10-14. We're very excited!
The PYP webpage was updated to include photos and text from the 6th Annual Agents of Change, honored at last year's Annual Meeting. You can read about the honorees here.
The Results are in! Teens participating in PYP's Choices & Challenges program in Catalina (funded though CPSA and the SaddleBrooke Rotary Club) during the Summer of 2002 reported statistically significant increases between pre-test and post-test surveys. The results can be found here.
Bashas' grocery store is holding a fundraiser for various causes. They will donate up to $2500 for PYP — and you can help! All you have to do is give the cashier the following code: 27384 when you shop there. The fundraising continues through January 2003, so give PYP a hand and shop at Bashas'!
Unfortunately, PYP's Tobacco-Free Ways program lost its funding effective June 30. Due to the new focus for funding (that of Tucson-based schools), PYP's Tobacco-Free Ways educators moved on to "bigger and better" things!
"Hot off the press" statistics show that our Wake Up! Program has an 8.7% recidivism rate, much lower than the national statistics of 26-45%. More information will be made available when the data analysis is completed. More on the Wake Up! Program is available here.
PYP is in print! The PYP-OET Strengthening Families program is recognized as an Emerging Program by the Child Welfare League of America's Research to Practice (R2P) Initiative. The article can be found here.
On June 9, PYP held its Family Fun Night Fundraiser at Funtasticks. PYP Board members were on-hand for manning the front table (where participants could buy special bracelets that entitled them to three rides plus all day miniature-golf), the Raffle Gift Table (where participants could buy raffle tickets for dozens of gifts ranging in value of $25.00 to $700.00), and the miniature golf course (where participants could join in the mini-golf tournament). Pima County Natural Resources Parks and Recreation volunteers were on-hand in the food tent, cooking hotdogs and hamburgers and dishing out ice cream to the hungry participants. A Great Big Thank You to all that helped make this day of fun a success!
One of PYP's Teen Pregnancy Prevention Educators, Mrs. Pat (Perez) Merrill, revisited her childhood when she travelled to her hometown of Dateland, Arizona. During her three days there, Pat taught the abstinence message to students in 6th, 7th, and 8th grades at Dateland Elementary School. Her old school welcomed her as an Honorary Alum (Class of '77) and students wrote letters thanking her for coming. Pat appreciated the warm welcome, and especially enjoyed seeing the children of her old classmates!
PYP presents the results to the Youth Preparation for Life survey. Nearly 500 adults and youth in various communities of Pima County participated in the survey, giving us their feedback about what skills, knowledge, and/or attitudes youth need to succeed. Overall, the results showed that adults and youth both identified: goals, self-esteem, communication skills, life skills, relationship skills, sense of self-identity, and hope among the most important items needed (on a scale of 1 to 5) for youth success. The survey also asked respondents to write in a few of their own. Among the most-often mentioned items were: to be responsible, to be honest, to have positive morals/values, and to be respectful.
Results by community can be found here.
PYP's Executive Director, Luan Wagner, Ph.D., was interviewed on Fox 11's Forum program with Bob Lee, which aired at 9am on Sunday, March 31st. In addition to PYP programs and sites, Dr. Wagner discussed strategies to ensure that Arizona moves up in the ranks of the nation with regards to putting children first. Pictures from our webpage were shown, as well as some key numbers that help define the uniqueness of our organization.
PYP is thrilled to learn that our Strengthening Families program was recognized as an Emerging Program by the Child Welfare League of America's Research to Practice (R2P) Initiative. The focus of the R2P Initiative is on "identifying the best child welfare programs and practices. It extends to include the full scope of issues relevant to the general well-being of children, youth, and families [...] to support and promote the implementation of well-researched/ evaluated methods or practices that positively impact people, organizations, and systems." The article will appear in the July issue of Children's Voice.
PYP Board member, Richard G. Fimbres, honored by Tucson Electric & Power and the Tucson Chamber of Commerce as 2001 Man of the Year.
PYP Executive Director, Luan E. Wagner, Ph.D., has been selected by Stanford University's Graduate School of Business as one of 50 Fellows nationwide to attend the Center for Social Innovation Executive Program for Nonprofit Leaders (EPNL). The EPNL is designed to further the professional development of current and future leaders in the nonprofit sector. Drawing on the leading-edge research and course offerings of the Stanford faculty, the program integrates conceptual knowledge with Fellows' own experience to generate powerful and practical insights about nonprofit leadership and management. EPNL provides a grant of $10,000 towards the program's tuition. The institute will occur March 3 to 15, 2002, on the Stanford University campus.
Marana's Youth Leadership and Advisory Council featured in the Arizona Daily Star, p. B3. The article discusses the goals of the council and their activities, including an event designed to increase students' awareness of other cultures. The article also provides information about when and where the council meet, as well as where to find Burgers & Books™.
|
Read article
text here
|
Pima YOUTH Partnership (PYP) was incorporated in 1990 by a group of concerned citizens that wanted to connect rural communities with the same programs, services, and activities available to youth and families living in the metropolitan Tucson area.
As a prevention agency, PYP works with youth and families in rural and Native American communities to reach its mission, "In partnership with communities, develop resources to promote the positive growth of their children." Since 1990, PYP has grown from its original three (3) communities of Ajo, rural Marana, and Sahuarita, to include Catalina, Flowing Wells, New Pascua Yaqui Reservation, and the three (3) western districts of the Tohono O'odham Nation.
