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Boys & Girls Clubs of Indian River County — Youth Volunteer Corps/Teen Center Grant Application to the Children's Services Advisory Committee C. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION (Entire Section C, 1 — 6, not to exceed two pages.) 1. List Priority Needs area addressed. Support the creation of after-school programs that enrich a child' s learning environment, by offering a curriculum that includes: homework assistance, tutoring, life skills training, and other enrichment programs . 2. Briefly describe program activities including location of services. The Youth Volunteer Corps' services focus on education, skill building, and leadership development while providing ongoing positive activities for youth outside of school hours, everyday after school, during the weekends and throughout the summer. The following in a list of programs offered to youth throughout Indian River County in the YVC program: • SPECIAL NEEDS PROJECTS: Service projects designed to aid special needs adults and children as well as seniors . • MENTORING PROJECTS : PALS (`Pupils Assisting Learning in Schools ') : Youth Volunteers work in teams under the leadership of an YVC Staff Team Leader in a structured tutoring program in elementary schools or other after school environments; Community Mentoring Initiatives (non-school sites) : Youth Volunteers work in teams under the leadership of an YVC Staff Team Leader in a structured tutoring program in aiding other neighborhoods or non-profit programs . • COMMUNITY BASED PROJECTS: The Youth Volunteer Corps provides a myriad of service activities to aid other community agencies. • TEEN CENTER: Offer facility based programming for teens every day after school and all day during the summer with programming such as: help with homework; drug and alcohol prevention classes; and career development. 3. Briefly describe how your program addresses the stated need/problem. Describe how your program follows a recognized "best practice" (see definition on page 12 of the Instructions) and provide evidence that indicates proposed strategies are effective with target population. Most youth programs reinforce the disconnection that young people feel in our society by treating them as clients rather than contributors. The youth volunteer is the primary focus of the YVC program, but the youths who participate in this program are given the responsibility as the contributors of service . The Youth Volunteer Corps places these young people into an environment of meeting the needs of others. Since studies have linked adverse youth behavior with low self esteem, we believe that treating youth as resources and putting them in responsible, serving roles builds self esteem. This is evidenced by Search Institute ' s study of 46,000 young people, described in The Troubled Journey, which found that youth who serve others are less likely to be involved in negative behaviors. The study showed that participating in "helping behavior" lowered adolescents' involvement in substance abuse, dropping out of school, teen regnancy, and other negative behaviors. 4 . List staffing needed for your program, including required experience and estimated hours per week in program for each staff member and/or volunteers (this section should conform to the information in the Position Listing on the Budget Narrative Worksheet). I full-time President & CEO — with a Bachelors Degree with a minimum of three years working in the non 5