Promoting Health with Community Partners
Funding for Youth Programs
We all know that we get more done when we collaborate with other people who have the same goals. Adult youth leaders can partner up to make sure the kids in their community get what they need to be healthy and active. For instance, do you need good programs after school to help kids stay out of trouble? Does your community need better play equipment in your park?
Start a dialogue with other adults who work with young people to find out whether they have the same concerns you do.
You can also work with groups that don't traditionally focus on youth to harness their expertise in grant writing, fund management or public relations. Perhaps your local hospital would help pay for an exercise trail. Maybe local service organizations have some money available to help youth. Many fine organizations are ready and willing to help out.
Don't neglect the expertise of your community college or university. Institutions of higher education employ many people who understand how to find and secure grant funding for worthwhile projects. Service and outreach activities are often required of faculty members at colleges and universities, so check into whether your community's needs might be a good match for someone else's expertise.
Advocating for Youth
You and other adult leaders must speak up so your elected and appointed officials understand the needs of youth in your community. You will have insights into the teens and pre-teens of your community (future voters!) that many other adults will not have. More and more people recognize the crisis of obesity among young people, so leaders like you who work directly with those young people will be in a unique position to influence public policy. And when you form an alliance with other adult youth leaders, you will truly be able to make a difference. Speak up!
An partnership of adult leaders from youth-serving organizations in your community can:
- Voice the needs (and strengths) of the community’s youth
- Advocate for the appointment of youth representatives on community boards and commissions
- Train adults and youth to work effectively together
- Participate in community efforts that improve access to walking trails, bike paths, skate parks, affordable indoor gyms, and other healthy “built environments”
- Partner to sponsor community intramurals or non-competitive athletic programs such as dance troupes, exhibition double-dutch teams or hula-hoop tournaments
- Apply for funds to implement community-wide health promotion programs with other coalitions such as ministerial alliances or family associations for children with special needs
- Integrate healthy eating and exercise objectives into club, youth group and after-school activities
- Work with school boards, farmers’ markets and food vendors to increase the amount and variety of fruits and vegetables offered at school
- Support fund-raisers that do not sell high-fat foods
- Track policies and legislation that support health promotion for and by youth
- Endorse and model healthy eating and physical activity
Even though pre-teens and early teens usually want more independence and spend more time with friends (typically away from family), they still need (and want!) adult role models to demonstrate and encourage the healthy behaviors that can lead to successful adulthood.
Adapted from The White House initiative “Helping America’s Youth” (2005)