Greater Waterville Communities for Children & Youth (GWC4CY) began in 1997 as part of the statewide Communities for Children initiative, which is a priority program of the Children’s Cabinet. The GWC4CY continues to evolve in its partnerships and is well-known as a coalition of volunteers representing and/or serving four area school systems, law enforcement, juvenile probation, eight local social service agencies to include, but not limited to PATCH (Planned Approach to Community Health), KVCAP, the Alfond Youth Center, Hardy Girls Healthy Women, Maine Children’s Home, Catholic Charities, United Way & the Healthy Horizons HMP, Seton Unit staff of Maine General, Colby and Thomas Colleges, clergy, businesses and area youth.
GWC4CY operates with a volunteer lead coordinator and tri-chairs. Throughout the past 5 years the coalition has also provided an AmeriCorps*VISTA to build capacity in the Colby Cares About Kids Mentoring Program.
GWC4CY, as one of the partner coalitions with the state’s C4CY office, is also a Community of Promise with the America's Promise Network as named by General Colin Powell for delivering the Five Fundamental Resources to children and youth: A healthy Start; Safe Places during non-school hours; Caring Adults/Mentors; Marketable Skills; and Opportunity to Give Back through Service.
In 2002-2003, GWC4CY applied for and won over $980,000 in grants with staff overseeing and coordinating prevention programs with our four area school systems and community-based agencies and after school programs.
In addition to being named One of America’s 100 Best Communities for Young People, in the last year, GWC4CY and PATCH Coalition partner brought over $580,000 into the greater Waterville area in prevention funding through the Office of National Drug Control Policy’s Youth a Drug Free Communities Grant of up to $300,000 to be used over the next three years. The Coalition will use this award to continue strengthening partnerships with substance abuse prevention providers, and local police departments on effective diversion programs; decreasing youth access to drugs; coordinating mental health service collaborations for youth and families in crisis; and positively affect alcohol and substance abuse policy within area school systems, the local community and the state. GWC4CY was also awarded an Maine Office of Substance Abuse Essentials Grant of $82,000 to be used for continuing model programs that address bullying, social awareness, asset building and positive youth development here in the Greater Waterville area. Finally, in partnership with Hardy Girls Healthy Women, the GWC4CY raised over $120,000 towards a $132,000 goal to fund their national campaign to end bias-based harassment of gay and lesbian youth with the production and distribution of the Ugly Ducklings Community Action Kit and Documentary Film, which can be ordered at www.hardygirlshealthywomen.org .
Positive Child/Youth Indicators the Coalition and its partners seek to measure:
- Increased number of caring adults
- Positive family communication
- Positive peer relations
- Reduced substance abuse
- Reduced tobacco use
- Reduced truancy/dropout rate
- Improve caring school climate
- Raise aspirations
- Improved school performance/academic success
- Increased self-esteem and decision making
Youth Leadership Activities:
- South End Teen Center Teen Adventure Trips
- Healthy Maine Partnership Activities
- City Council Presentation on Alcohol Abuse
- Hardy Girls Healthy Women Girls Unlimited Conference
21st Century Community Learning Center-Funded Program Highlights:
- Alfond Youth Center’s Boys & Girls Club after school program
- Youth Expressions Performing Arts Program
- Shakespeare Summer Camp for Teens
- Music Mentoring
- Colby Cares About Kids Mentoring Program
- Jazz Camp
- After School Aspirations Academic Support Program
The goal of the College/Community Mentoring Program is:
To Improve academic, social, and emotional well-being of all mentees through a consistent, intentional relationship for between 2 and 4 years. Additional outcomes include: reduced peer aggression, reduced truancy/dropout, reduced behavioral incidents in school and elsewhere, improved parent/mentee communication and connection to school, reduced tobacco and/or substance abuse.
State Wide Replication tasks included the following supports to both local, state and national organizations and groups:
Presented model at three conferences:
- National Search Institute’s Healthy Community/Healthy Youth
- Virginia’s Volunteer Conference
- Maine’s Communities for Children & Youth’s Reasons for Hope Conference
Coalition Continuum & Coordination:
GWC4CY also drafted and is in the process of distributing two process documents that provide supports to community coalitions.
1. Coalition Continuum: A rubric through which coalition leadership, participation, and goal-setting can be articulated and tracked over time
2. Coordinated Prevention Umbrella: A Flow Chart that articulates the key issues each community is addressing in terms of prevention and the promotion of health and assets, and which agencies and groups are addressing which issues and through which strategies.
An Overview of Waterville's Promise
Our Communities for Children's Leadership Council is a group of committed people of all ages and backgrounds working together to assess needs, promote the healthy behavior, well-being, and positive education and growth of children and youth in our community.
The Mission of the Greater Waterville Area Communities for Children & Youth Coalition is to measurably improve the lives of children and youth in the greater Waterville area by fostering community collaboration.
We work to connect young people in greater Waterville, Maine with the support necessary to make the Five Promises a daily reality in their lives. Our efforts reinforce the work of existing youth organizations by encouraging the use of the Five Promises as a common framework. We help maximize results, create lasting partnerships, foster collaboration focused on a shared goal and — most importantly — increase the resources dedicated to our young people. Additionally, by focusing on the research conducted by the Search Institute, GWCFCY emphasizes creating opportunities for youth based on the 40 developmental assets. The asset approach helps us to assess what areas of positive youth development are lacking in the community, and then ultimately filling those gaps with appropriate programming.
The Greater Waterville Area Communities for Children & Youth (GWACFCY), an ongoing coalition, started in 1997 with a volunteer coordinator and two state liaisons, one from the Department of Corrections and the other from the Department of Human Services. Together, they brought together leaders and representatives from all walks of life to take on the role as the Children's Leadership Council. Because the GWACFC is not a non-profit, but rather a coalition, it is housed under the Waterville Public Schools. The office is located in downtown Waterville in a shared space with one of our coalition partners, Hardy Girls Healthy Women.