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Five Town Communities That Care
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January 15, 2010 Executive Director's Update
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Vol 2, Issue 2 |
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Greetings!
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WOW, LOTS TO SHARE THIS WEEK!!
-->We are still accepting nominations for both organizations and individuals for our quarterly Youth Advocate Awards. If you would like to nominate a person or a group, drop me an email.
-->The FTCTC Board met on Monday. Those wishing to view the minutes can do so in the FTCTC office.
-->Please note that you may use SKYPE to join any meetings that are held at the CTC office if you are unable to travel. Just arrange to do so in advance!
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Important Dates
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Monday, Jan 18th: HOLIDAY, OFFICES CLOSED
Tuesday, Jan 19th:
- Coalition Maintenance WG: 8:30AM
- Community Education and Outreach (PR) Workgroup: 10AM
Thursday, Jan 28th:
Coalition Meeting: 11:30 -1:00PM @ The Teen Center
Saturday January 30
WinterFest Ice Carving Exhibition: 11:30 - 3:30pm in the Camden Amphitheatre |
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Nellie Mae Application For Funding Denied
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Unfortunately, we received notification from the Nellie Mae Foundation that our application for Mentors has not been funded. We will continue in our search for funding for this important program! If you come across any grants that look like a good fit for either component (Math or Literacy Mentors), please pass them along to myself or Sheryl.
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BluePrints Conference in April
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I will be part of a panel (with J. David Hawkins and Blair Brooke-Weiss) at the BluePrints Conference in San Antonio, TX (April 7-9). This might be a great conference for someone to join me at. Take a look at the conference site, and let me know if you are interested in attending.
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MAPSA
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I attended the MAPSA steering committee meeting on Thursday, from 2-4PM (by phone). Lots of stuff going on around the state...nice to see such the level of collaboration that MAPSA brings!
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The legislature is in full swing and LD 821 has been of interest to many stakeholders. The Maine Alliance for the Prevention of Substance Abuse summarizes the bill: "it requires the manufacturers of the drugs to establish a collection and disposal program for unwanted drugs from residential settings. The disposal program must be without cost to the consumer at the time of sale or at the time of disposal, i.e. free."
As this is a bill related to prescription drugs and the reduction of abuse of unused pills, I encourage you to learn more about it and then let your opinion be known.
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Peter Russell and Lisa Ettinger shared a table with Diane Vatne
of Greater Old Town CTC at the state capitol's Hall of Flags on
Wednesday. The event with about a dozen non-profits engaged in
substance abuse prevention was organized by the MAPSA (the Maine
Alliance for the Prevention of Substance Abuse). Below is a picture of Lisa (left) and Peter (right) with Representative Andrew O'Brien of Lincolnville taken during the event.
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Perceived Risk of Harm of Inhalants, LSD, or Ecstasy Lower Among US 8th Graders
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Eighth graders' perceived risk of using inhalants, LSD, or ecstasy continues to decline, according to data from the 2009 Monitoring the Future survey. The percentage of 8th graders perceiving a great risk from using ecstasy once or twice decreased from 43% in 2004 to 26% in 2009. The perception of harm from inhalant use began to decline in this population in 2001 (from 46% to 34% in 2008 and 2009). The most substantial decline, however, has occurred in the perceived risk of LSD use. In 1993, 42% of 8th grade students in the U.S. perceived a great risk in using LSD once or twice. In 2009, half as many students (21%) reported that using LSD once or twice posed a great risk. According to lead MTF researcher Lloyd Johnston, this decline removes "a major obstacle to experimentation. We have seen LSD make a comeback before, clearly it could happen again" (p. 2).
SOURCE: Adapted by CESAR from University of Michigan, "Teen Marijuana Use Tilts Up, While Some Drugs Decline in Use," Press Release, 12/14/09. Available online at http://www.monitoringthefuture.org/data/09data.html#2009data- drugs.
NOTE: Data on the perceived risk of LSD use began being collected in 1993; ecstasy in 2001.
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FTCTC Invited to Participate in SuperBowl Survey with Drug Free Action Alliance
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From the Drug Free Action Alliance:
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The Super Bowl is known for its commercials almost as much as it is for the game itself. Yet the type of products being advertised and the audience viewing those advertisements are of great concern. Results from the Drug-Free Action Alliance Super Bowl Survey 2009 revealed that two of the top three "most memorable" commercials, according to middle and high school students, were beer commercials. This falls in line with the studies that suggest alcohol companies are targeting youth in their advertising. Through research, we know that the more youth are exposed to alcohol in advertising, the more likely they are to consume alcohol underage.
In our quest to further research the impact of advertising on our youth, we invite you to participate in the Drug-Free Action Alliance Super Bowl Survey 2010.
Through a simple, three-question, student survey given Monday morning following the Super Bowl, middle and high school students share their thoughts on what advertisements they remember seeing and which commercial takes their top vote. This information is then collected, summarized and shared. You'll see the results within several days post Super Bowl Sunday. This valuable, fresh and local information can then be used to educate parents, students, lawmakers and the media about the effects of alcohol advertising on youth.
In the Super Bowl Survey Kit , Drug-Free Action Alliance includes everything you'll need to quickly and easily implement your local student survey, with additional ideas on student engagement and follow-up activities.
The National Football League's Super Bowl XLIV is scheduled for February 7, 2010, with television coverage on CBS. Make the winning pass by taking advantage of this opportunity to get in the game!
If you have any Super Bowl Survey questions, please contact: Drug-Free Action Alliance Communications Director Michelle Morse, mmorse@DrugFreeActionAlliance.org or (614) 540-9985.
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IF someone wants to volunteer to organize this, let me know and we can get started! Otherwise, I guess we will pass (no pun intended!).
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From the Non Profit Times:
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Management ...4 practices of innovative organizations
Innovation makes the nonprofit world go around and the for-profit world, and almost anything in between, all right, except maybe for government. In his book "How to Change the World," David Bornstein suggests that innovation is integral to the success of any effort undertaken by a nonprofit.
Further, Bornstein maintains that there are four practices of innovative organizations, practices that he has derived from years of observation of nonprofits throughout the world.
The four practices that he says organizations should utilize are:
- Institutionalize listening. According to Bornstein, innovative organizations institute systems and guidelines for listening to their clients; they don't just leave this aspect to chance. Childline, a 24-hour response system for children in India, schedules meetings and "open houses" with street children. An institution for disabled people in Hungary has volunteers write narrative reports of successes and failures, and they are encouraged to be blunt.
- Pay attention to the exceptional. A wealth of knowledge can come from exceptional or unexpected information, particularly unexpected successes.
- Design real solutions for real people. One of the hallmarks of social entrepreneurs is that they are realistic about human behavior. They spend a great deal of time thinking about how to get their clients actually to use their products or services.
- Focus on human qualities. In the book, Bornstein cites examples of people who make hiring decisions, not on a resume or formal credentials, but on "soft" qualities such as empathy, flexible thinking and a "strong inner core."
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Article Headline
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The Year Three DFC application is due in February. I will need the Board to read the plan and budget carefully before it is submitted. Be on the lookout for it! Also, if I have asked your WORKGROUPS to provide materials related to the YEAR TWO work, please get those to me ASAP.
Also, Toby Manns-Royal, our project officer, has clarified for me that we may be called to attend a special meeting in D.C. regarding our grant at any time during this fiscal year. We must keep those funds aside until we are notified that we need not attend. I have canceled the CADCA Leadership Forum reservations as no one expressed interest and we may need to go to D.C. later in the year and will need those funds to do so.
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Quick Updates
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--> I will be meeting with Chris Shrum next week to explore ways he might be able to become involved in FTCTC once again. Hopefully, he will be able to assist with our Funding WG.
--> A big welcome to Diane Sturgeon, new member of the PR workgroup! Diane brings a wonderful set of skills to our work! Work group co-chair Andrew Lesmerises is setting up accounts for FTCTC on a bunch of video
sharing sites so that we can start sharing our video clips with a
larger audience. We will keep you posted on those efforts. Also, I will be working with Lori Bailey to update our main database, and to
create an additional database to keep track of our community outreach
and PR efforts.
-->The Program Evaluation Work Group met on Thursday for its regular monthly meeting.
--> Sandy is working on getting donation acknowledgements out to folks and the year's paperwork ready for preparation of our 990.
--> We have still not received our updated Charitable Solicitations License, although the renewal application was filed on time and the check has been cashed. The division of licensing told me that we are "all set" and that they are processing the renewals in the order in which they were received. The woman I spoke with stated that as long as we are listed as "ACTIVE" in the online database, we are considered to be licensed. I will keep my eye out for the actual renewal license in the mail.
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Whew, this was a busy week with a Board meeting and STAR beginning for the first time under Tug's direction! On the home front, it was a big week for me personally as well. My middle child (Deanne) moved to begin her internship at the New York Theatre Workshop in Manhattan. Also, our former STAR support staffer Sabrina Carleton started classes at the Hutchinson Center in Belfast. I have been helping her a bit with the college application process, so it is wonderful to see her make it to her first classes!
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Dalene Dutton
Executive Director
Five Town Communities That Care
219 Meadow Street, P.O. Box 1135
Rockport, ME 04856
www.fivetownctc.org
dalene@fivetownctc.org Office: (207) 236-9800 Cell: (207) 322-9262
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