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What is Teens Who Care?
Web Editor: Rhonda Erskine, Online Content Producer
Created: 4/28/2006 10:25:13 AM
Updated: 10/18/2007 2:26:01 PM
Teens Who Care seeks to honor teens who
caringly volunteer their time and talents in the service of others. In leadership roles, and in more quiet ways, teens all
over the state are living lives that make a difference.
In 2007 WLBZ 2 and WCSH 6 received more than
60 nominations from communities across Maine. Judges included: Suzanne McCormick, Executive Director, American Red Cross of
Southern Maine; Suzanne Wantland, Executive, YMCA of Cumberland County; Judy Horan, President & General Manager, WLBZ
2; Joyce Hedlund, President, Eastern Maine Community College; Melinda Lawrence, Nelnet Marketing and Sales Support Generalist;
Charlene Belanger, Community Affairs Director, WCSH 6/WLBZ 2.
Each teen is awarded a $1000 scholarship by Nelnet SuperLoan,
sponsor of Teens Who Care. An award presentation and ceremony is held at the Portland Museum of Art. A 30-minute special,
highlighting the work of each teen, airs on WLBZ 2 and WCSH 6. In addition, 30-second "salute" messages air on WLBZ 2 and
WCSH 6 throughout the months of May and June.
Teens Who Care is generously supported by Nelnet SuperLoan. Nelnet SuperLoan
is pleased to join the Teens Who Care program in honoring teens who emulate the ethics and values that make our state so special.
"Without exception, theses teens demonstrate the highest level of compassion and work ethic and have earned the highest respect
of their community," stated Laurie Curtis, Vice President at Nelnet. "They deserve every opportunity to dream, learn and grow
and Nelnet is honored to get them started toward their goals with $1000 scholarships. With a mission to assist students pursuing
higher education, Nelnet considers this sponsorship to be a perfect fit."
Three teens who care set a great example
By Times editorial
Published May 22, 2007
American teenagers are sometimes painted as spoiled and self-centered,
disengaged from the pain and suffering of much of the world's population. The picture is not an accurate
one, but teens sometimes do need to be shown the power for good that they possess.
That is a lesson now well understood by students at Clearwater
Central Catholic High School. The school recently raised $9, 468 to help ease the terrible suffering in Darfur, a region of
Sudan where more than 200, 000 people have been killed and 2.5-million displaced by vicious fighting between rebels and militia.
Some 2, 000 American schools participated in the Dollars for
Darfur campaign, which involved high school students and was conducted through online Web sites popular with teens. But only
two of those schools raised more money than Clearwater Central Catholic.
CCC junior Christine Ochsner organized the effort here after
learning about it from a friend in Massachusetts. She did research on the Darfur region and recruited CCC friends, including
Jennifer Ackerman and Megan Shanahan, to help conduct the campaign.
With a goal of $5, 000, they spread the word about Darfur -
the stories and images, commonly seen on television newscasts, are difficult to erase from memory - and about how even teenagers
in Clearwater, Florida, could have an impact in that faraway region.
Many at the school joined in, from students to administrators
to cafeteria workers, who cooked a meal of rice, bread and water to illustrate the kind of food refugees in Darfur eat, when
they eat at all. The students held a bake sale, sold T-shirts and took part in competitions to raise money.
"It was so powerful to see all these kids wanting to do something
to help, " said Ochsner, who is 17.
When the campaign ended, the CCC students had almost doubled
their original goal. Because they did so well, the CCC organizers have won a trip to Washington, D.C., to meet with members
of Congress and those working in the nonprofit Save Darfur Coalition.
The CCC students, like others around the country who also worked
to raise dollars for Darfur, have tapped into a power they, we hope, will not soon forget. Even while they are teenagers,
and later as adults, they can have an enormous positive impact on communities far away and right here at home. It takes only
time, energy and heart.
[Last modified May 21, 2007, 23:18:09]
source: click here
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Teens Do Care
What Their Parents Think of Them
By Simmons College
Oct 16, 2007 - 4:56:43
AM
It could
be one of the best-kept secrets of the surly adolescent: it may look as if they're turning away from their family in favor
of their friends, but what their family thinks matters to them. A lot.
A study led by Simmons School of Social Work Professor Helen
Reinherz shows that it is of paramount importance to adolescents that they feel valued by their family, and is an important
factor in their optimal mental health. Knowing that their family values their opinions promotes an adolescent's self-esteem,
and reduces the risk for major depression, suicidal thoughts and other mental health maladjustments, according to the study.
The study also shows that adolescents who believe that they
can rely on family members for advice, or who have parents or siblings they can view as confidants, have significantly increased
chances for good academic achievement and overall healthy social and psychological adjustment.
The findings were recently reported in the Simmons College study
"Family Matters," sponsored by Blue Cross Blue Shield Massachusetts Foundation, which commissioned the data analysis to help
social service agencies, community workers, parents, teachers and other caregivers understand some of the factors that can
promote healthy adolescent development.
"The common belief is that the adolescent is turning away from
the family -- that their peers suddenly become the major influence in their lives," Reinherz said. "But in reality, it is
of paramount importance to most adolescents that they feel valued as a family member and that their opinions count.
"Families need to understand they are vitally important to the
adolescent."
These are some of the findings from data that Reinherz and her
research team collected over the past thirty years as part of the Simmons Longitudinal Study, one of the nation's longest-running
and most comprehensive mental health studies. The National Institute of Mental Health funded the longitudinal study.
Since 1977, Reinherz has led a team of researchers who followed
nearly 400 residents of Quincy, MA from the time they entered kindergarten at age 5, until their mid-30's today, searching
for predictors of good or mental health from early childhood onward. The study was designed to help parents, teachers, mental
health professionals, policymakers and others improve early identification and treatment of mental health issues.
source: its a survey
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