As I become progressively busier with new projects, and as weeks begin to meld into each other, I’ve decided to cover two weeks of work in one succinct post. This post is the first of such posts.
I spent much of the next couple of days focusing on the Prevention Partnership project; I sifted through various clearinghouses online (some of which were frustratingly unusable due to the government shutdown) and recorded various instances of evidence-based, peer-reviewed alcohol and drug prevention interventions. I compiled the best, most relevant interventions in an Excel sheet and made copies to hand out at the Prevention Partnership meeting on Wednesday.
At the meeting, we gathered the Prevention Partnership partners and explained to them the call for evidence-based practices in the new work plan. Many partners, as it turns out, were already using evidence-based practices, though they weren’t aware of that. Others needed more help. In the end, though, everyone was on the same page. We used the meeting time to establish a timeline and other deadlines by which the partners should have their revised proposals submitted to us, so that we can compile them into one work plan and submit that to the County. Overall, it was a very productive meeting!
The rest of the week passed without any incident of note. The following Thursday was the monthly in-person meeting with Manuelito and Jana. We met at the Redwood City 2020 offices, and discussed my role with the Prevention Partnership, the importance of the upcoming Redwood City 2020 environmental scan, and opportunities for my own professional development.
The grand opening of a Healthy Corner Store marked the end of the week. Although the irony of serving pizza and pastries at a healthy corner store was lost on no one, the meaning of the event was significant nonetheless. It was a nice change of pace to be in the community supporting one of RWC2020’s initiatives that I had read so much about. Hearing from straight from the mouths of the youth that worked so hard to put this store together I hope that this is the start of a trend that allows me to be in the community supporting various initiatives as much as I read about them!
For these youth, I've themed this week's post "Architects of Change." The Youth Leadership Institute, who headed up the Healthy Corner Store project, is comprised of local youth who want to change their community for the better. They approached all the store owners, convinced them to give their stores a healthy makeover, trained the owners how to take care of produce, and physically rearranged and cleaned the stores themselves. These youth are setting the foundation for future change, upon which a huge skyskraper of their influence will one day be built.
I spent much of the next couple of days focusing on the Prevention Partnership project; I sifted through various clearinghouses online (some of which were frustratingly unusable due to the government shutdown) and recorded various instances of evidence-based, peer-reviewed alcohol and drug prevention interventions. I compiled the best, most relevant interventions in an Excel sheet and made copies to hand out at the Prevention Partnership meeting on Wednesday.
At the meeting, we gathered the Prevention Partnership partners and explained to them the call for evidence-based practices in the new work plan. Many partners, as it turns out, were already using evidence-based practices, though they weren’t aware of that. Others needed more help. In the end, though, everyone was on the same page. We used the meeting time to establish a timeline and other deadlines by which the partners should have their revised proposals submitted to us, so that we can compile them into one work plan and submit that to the County. Overall, it was a very productive meeting!
The rest of the week passed without any incident of note. The following Thursday was the monthly in-person meeting with Manuelito and Jana. We met at the Redwood City 2020 offices, and discussed my role with the Prevention Partnership, the importance of the upcoming Redwood City 2020 environmental scan, and opportunities for my own professional development.
The grand opening of a Healthy Corner Store marked the end of the week. Although the irony of serving pizza and pastries at a healthy corner store was lost on no one, the meaning of the event was significant nonetheless. It was a nice change of pace to be in the community supporting one of RWC2020’s initiatives that I had read so much about. Hearing from straight from the mouths of the youth that worked so hard to put this store together I hope that this is the start of a trend that allows me to be in the community supporting various initiatives as much as I read about them!
For these youth, I've themed this week's post "Architects of Change." The Youth Leadership Institute, who headed up the Healthy Corner Store project, is comprised of local youth who want to change their community for the better. They approached all the store owners, convinced them to give their stores a healthy makeover, trained the owners how to take care of produce, and physically rearranged and cleaned the stores themselves. These youth are setting the foundation for future change, upon which a huge skyskraper of their influence will one day be built.
No comments:
Post a Comment