First Lady, Francis Strickland with Chris Karel at Ohio Department of Education Awards Ceremony

On Wednesday, December 12, 2007, the Lakewood Youth Master Plan Committee received the Ohio Department of Education Asset Builder Award of Recognition at the annual Ohio Prevention Education Conference. Dottie Buckon and I accepted the award on behalf of the Lakewood YMP Committee. The Safe and Drug-Free Schools program established the Asset Builder Award to recognize outstanding people who represent Ohio’s greatest resources in creating and sustaining prevention and intervention efforts.

Based on the work of the Search Institute, there are 40 developmental assets comprised of positive experiences and personal qualities that young people need to grow up healthy, caring and responsible. “We have learned that success is established on the foundation of relationships. Put simply, at the heart of prevention are people who have dedicated themselves to making a difference. They proceed selflessly, with purpose and intent, because they know by their own experience that the greatest impact on a young person’s life is the involvement of caring adult role models,” said Krista Allison, Associate Director of the Office for Safety, Health and Nutrition, Ohio Department of Education.

The award represents the hard work and time that hundreds of Lakewood citizens devoted to a Youth Master Plan initiated in the fall of 2005. The draft plan, due out in January, will detail the community’s issues and strategies discussed by community members involved in the planning process. It contains goals in four areas: education, recreation, families and health & safety. Part of the draft plan details a method for implementation.

At the core of the Plan implementation is a recommendation to form a Lakewood Youth Commission. The Commission will consist of eight youth and eight adults, a chair and two ex-officio members, one from the City and one from the Schools. The group is seeking applications for at-large members now, and will begin working by the end of January. Go to: http://www.lakewoodymp.com for more information or to download an application.

The website contains documents and articles related to the project as well. In Youth Master Planning: Building an Infrastructure to Help Young People Succeed, Michael Karpman states, “Youth master planning processes offer many benefits to cities, including a better alignment of resources to reduce duplication of services and eliminate service gaps; coordination of city, school and community efforts to improve outcomes for youth; cost savings; and opportunities for citizen input and youth participation.” A primary task of the Youth Commission will be to evaluate the Youth Master Plan Report and determine which of the goals are immediately actionable.

Once established, the Commission will fulfill its mission by acting as an ongoing planning and advocacy body, and serving as a champion for youth and youth involvement in city and community planning processes. The Commission shall act as a liaison between youth serving organizations, local businesses, local government, schools and the community for the purpose of collaborative resolution of community needs and issues. Earning the Asset Builder Award from the Ohio Department of Education is an example of the City’s great potential and the positive course set by the Youth Master Plan.

If you attended a community meeting, offered input via e-mail or phone, or were one of more than 800 youth who provided input during our survey—thank you! You earned the Asset Builder Award for Lakewood.