Youth Powered Health Club for ages 13-18
“Be the change you want to create” in the Three Rivers community with the Youth Powered Health Club for youth ages 13-18 meeting weekly beginning Thursday, July 11th from 3-4 pm at a downtown Milo location (to be announced). Contact Dani Newman at Dani.Reney@gmail.com for more information. This youth led group will define what healthy living means to them while networking together on actions toward a positive change in their community.
It’s an incredible opportunity to not only get youth excited to talk and learn more about healthy living, but also to show off the skills and brilliance they bring to the table. Youth will seek out the abundance of community resources and connections from fellow community members, programs, and organizations in their quest.
Dani Newman, Summer Intern and group facilitator said, “I’ve lived in Milo my whole life and graduated from Penquis Valley in 2011. In fact, it was my junior year at Penquis when I first became involved with 4-H on the Engaging Youth Serving Community (EYSC) Grant and started on my journey to where I am today. I’m currently enrolled as a junior at the University of Maine at Farmington working on a major in International and Global Studies with a minor in Political Science. I was given this opportunity to create a healthy living program in my community through my work as a Youth Ambassador on the National 4-H Council’s, Healthy Living Management Team. As a Youth Ambassador I represent the state of Maine, but more specifically Milo and the Three Rivers Community, sharing my thoughts and opinions on the future of the National 4-H Council’s Healthy Living programs. After a team meeting in April at the 4-H Council in Maryland, a Youth Ambassador from Ohio and I were offered Healthy Living Internships through the 2013 Molina Healthcare 4-H Internship Grant (along with the 5 other interns from 5 different states, who are working on a Healthy Living Town Hall event this summer).”
The National 4-H Council and Molina Healthcare support this program and internship at UMaine Cooperative Extension of Piscataquis County. The Youth Voice, Youth Choice National 4-H Council Walmart Foundation grant, also supports it. Molina Healthcare is a Fortune 500 company that provides quality and cost-effective Medicaid-related solutions to meet healthcare needs of low-income families and individuals (for more about Molina please visit, www.molinahealthcare.com). 4-H is the largest youth development organization with a community of young people from around the world learning leadership, citizenship, and life skills. The National 4-H Council is the private sector, non-profit partner of 4-H National Headquarters located at the National Institute for Food and Agriculture (NIFA) within the US Department of Agriculture (for more about 4-H please visit, www.4-H.org). 4-H and Molina are now partnering together on a Teens Take On Health Solutions for a Healthier America campaign. Both 4-H and Molina Healthcare are working toward empowering youth to take on the healthy living, to become part of the healthcare dialogue, and start making small steps of positive change in our community. Their goal is to make us as a nation healthier, lessen our health care costs, and increase awareness of the connection between healthy personal choices and good mental/physical health.
If you have questions, comments, or thoughts before the meeting on July 11, please contact Dani Newman at Dani.Reney@gmail.com. For more information or to request a disability accommodation, call Cooperative Extension (207) 564-3301.