Resilience and hard work pay off

16-year old Pittsfield High School student, Kyle Pullaro-Clark has been a remarkable mentor and advocate. On Thursday September 6^th, nearly 20 staff members and young people gathered at Berkshire Children and Families to honor Kyle with the S.A.Y It Proud (Supporting and Acknowledging Youth) award for outstanding involvement in community and school activities.

Sarah Lampro, Youth Coordinator at the Family Resource Center, Kyle Pullaro-Clark, S.A.Y. It Proud recipient, and Kat Toomey, Coordinator of Positive Youth Development at Berkshire United Way.

As a member of Live Out Loud, an LGBTQ+ youth support group hosted by Berkshire Children and Families’ Family Resource Center, Kyle has demonstrated outstanding leadership and efforts in addressing and raising awareness about issues surrounding youth and the LGBTQ+ community. In addition to mentoring young people in Pride Play and Fun, a group for LGBTQ+ youth under the age of 12, Kyle volunteers his time and puts his energy into community events such as the LGBTQ+ Annual Conference and Pittsfield Moves.  He also provides a youth voice on panels advocating for the LGBTQ+ community.

In addition to his great work in the community, Kyle works hard in his school, home and work life, holding a job in the community for the last couple years. Sarah Lampro, Youth Coordinator at the Family Resource Center, who nominated Kyle for the award said, “I have been fortunate to watch him grow into an extremely well-rounded, hardworking and great young man who I am confident will go on to do many remarkable things in our community.”  

Established by the Pittsfield Prevention Partnership in 2012, the important work of recognizing middle and high school students with S.A.Y. It Proud awards has been continued by our Positive Youth Development Impact Council (PYDIC).  

If you’d like to learn more about PYDIC or nominate a young person aged 11-19 for a S.A.Y It Proud award, please contact me at ktoomey@berkshireunitedway.org or 413.442.6948 ext. 15. I look forward to hearing from you!

Kat Toomey

Coordinator of Positive Youth Development

Collaborations result in a stronger community

In a recent blog post you heard directly from Charlotte Cahillane, Positive Youth Development intern here at Berkshire United Way.  One of the projects Charlotte worked on while she was with us was the Positive Youth Development Impact Council Resource Fair.

On July 18^th, 14 different youth-serving programs from across the county took part in the Positive Youth Development Impact Council (PYDIC) Resource Fair held at the Hillcrest Center Campus Gymnasium in Lenox. The primary objectives of this event were to enable program staff who work with young people to connect, learn more about the community resources that are available, and strengthen their referral networks.

Participating organizations included: the Berkshire Environmental Action Team, Berkshire Children and Families, Berkshire County Kid's Place, Berkshire Family YMCA, Berkshire Pulse, Boy Scouts, The Brien Center, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, Child Care of the Berkshires, Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission, North Adams Public Schools, Northern Berkshire Community Coalition, Railroad Street Youth Project, and United Cerebral Palsy Association of Berkshire County. 

During the second part of the fair, local business community members joined us to learn more about youth-focused initiatives in the Berkshires and the various volunteer opportunities that are available. Activities like this are just one of the many ways Berkshire United Way impacts the community through resource coordination, or the idea that no one person, program or agency can do it all and our collaborations result in a stronger community.

Elizabeth LeSage from Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) talks with Logan Malik from Berkshire Environmental Action Team (BEAT), as Sarah Lampro from Berkshire Children and Families looks over informational materials provided by BEAT.

To learn more about the Positive Youth Development Impact Council (PYDIC) or volunteer opportunities with young people, please contact Kat Toomey, Coordinator of Positive Youth Development at ktoomey@berkshireunitedway.org or 413-442-6948 x 15.

I look forward to hearing from you!
Kat

Connecting activities for a brighter future

Every young person deserves a chance to explore opportunities relating to both college and career, this was the theme that rang clearly throughout the 20^th annual Connecting Activities Conference hosted by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) on May 15^th. Emphasis is placed on attending college after high school, however, the reality is pursuing a 4-year degree is not an option for some teens, and in fact, may not even be what they need to be successful. A recent NPR article captures this sentiment perfectly, as it addresses high-paying vacancies in the trades that are left empty, as increasingly more young people line up for universities - only to find themselves faced with the challenge of finding employment once they’ve graduated college.  

Attending this conference made me realize we’re on the right path with our Positive Youth Development Impact Council (PYDIC), which is centered around successful youth transitions to work, education, or training after high school.

While PYDIC’s initial goal was to increase high school graduation rates throughout the county (it is currently at 87%), we also understand the need to focus on ensuring our young people graduate from high school with a college or career plan.

On April 18^th, community members, non-profit organizations, and local businesses put their heads together to develop a plan to support college and career readiness for all Berkshire County Teens.

The result is a commitment to:

1) Support and increase existing mentorships for Grades K-12

2) Formalize and strengthen partnerships between business, non-profit, and  other sectors

3) Increase education and access to information for parents on college and career readiness for their children

Regardless of which option a young person chooses to pursue, work-based experiences and internships are the foundation our young people need to successfully transition into life beyond high school and when our youth succeed, we all succeed.

Katie Hickey of Berkshire Community College leads a workshop for south county teens at Berkshire Community College on Wednesday, May 23, 2018.  The workshop was one of twenty workshops offered as part of a Career Conference.  (Photo courtesy of Berkshire Community College.)

For more information and/or to join PYDIC, please contact me at ktoomey@berkshireunitedway.org or 413.442.6948 x15.  I look forward to hearing from you!

Kat Toomey, Coordinator of Positive Youth Development

Kids do well, if they can

After the long commute to Boston, 32 hours of intensive training, and countless conversations with experts in the field, I found myself back in the Berkshire hills with a new intentionality for ensuring all of our young people are supported in their development. The training I attended is called the BEST Initiative (Building Exemplary Systems of Training), and it was facilitated by the Boston-based nonprofit, Health Resources in Action.

One of many topics discussed at this training was developmental outcomes.  Often times, we tend to focus on achievement-based outcomes, or the idea that young people are deemed successful when they transition to young adulthood and gain stable employment or pursue higher education; we forget about the developmental outcomes or soft skills it takes to get to those achievements, some of which are listed in the chart below.

Achievement	Developmental
·         Getting a job ·         High school diploma ·         Recommendation ·         Passing the PARCC ·         Internship ·         College ·         Scholarship	·         Confidence ·         Relationships ·         Social skills ·         Leadership skills ·         Presentation skills ·         Appreciating diversity ·         Sense of responsibility ·         Ability to control behavior

Members of our Positive Youth Development Impact Council (PYDIC) are committed to creating opportunities throughout the county to ensure our young people develop these soft skills, which will help them achieve future success.  We know that, behind challenging behavior our youth exhibit, are opportunities for building developmental skills – kids do well if they can.

If you would like to increase youth access to positive, healthy opportunities in our community by joining the Positive Youth Development Impact Council, please contact me at ktoomey@berkshireunitedway.org or 413-442-6948 x 15.

I hope to hear from you!

Kat

Coordinator of Positive Youth Development

Grants may end, but the work continues

Berkshire United Way has been proud to be a recipient of a Drug Free Communities (DFC) grant for the past ten years.  This grant has supported the Pittsfield Prevention Partnership which has been actively working to unite the community in creating a healthy environment for our middle and high school youth by reducing and preventing youth substance use. Through this collaborative effort with our community partners, we have reduced 30-day usage of alcohol for 8^th graders by 19%; for 10^th graders by 29%, and for 12^th graders by 13% (2007 -2016 Prevention Needs Assessment).   

A critical protective factor in reducing and preventing youth substance use is providing recognition and positive rewards to youth for their engagement in their schools and community.  The Pittsfield Prevention Partnership recognized the importance of highlighting youth by starting the S.A.Y It Proud (Supporting and Acknowledging Youth) awards in 2012. We have a catalog of 100 recipients since its inception.

Say It Proud Awards at the Gather In on July 22, 2017; Rich Johnson, former coordinator of Pittsfield Prevention Partnership (right in photo).

Unfortunately, the Drug Free Communities grant has come to an end, but many of the activities of Pittsfield Prevention Partnership will live on in our revived Positive Youth Development Impact Council (PYDIC). We will strive to create healthy, positive opportunities for all our Berkshire County youth.  If you would like to help develop strategies to support our youth in staying on a path to college and career join us on October 18^th from 3 - 4:30 p.m. at the Family Resource Center, 480 West Street in Pittsfield.  I hope to see you there!

Kat Toomey

Coordinator of Positive Youth Development