TOPTeen Outreach Program Newsletter Winter 2015

CONNECT. In TOP, students build a trusting and positive relationship with their classroom facilitator, learn to work together with their peers as a team and foster meaningful connections with their community through volunteer work.

“TOP made class feel like a family.” – Madison student

“ TOP is a program where my voice can be heard.”

– Roosevelt student

WHAT IS THE TEEN OUTREACH PROGRAM (TOP)? TOP helps youth develop healthy behaviors and learn life skills by combining classroom lessons, fun activities and volunteer projects. Students meet once a week for the 2014-2015 school year in eight Portland and Salem high schools. TOP has been proven to prevent teen pregnancy and improve student academic success in school.

EMPOWER. Through TOP, teens gain essential life skills such as positive communi-cation, goal setting, expressing and understanding values and emotions, empathy building, project planning, building healthy relationships, and increased self-awareness. These skills help prepare and empower students to succeed in high school, college and in the workforce.

I’ve changed a lot since the start of this year, I attend class more often and I’m passing my classes.” – North Salem student

SERVE. Youth plan and lead projects of interest to them, which help them learn important life skills, gain work experience and empower them to make positive changes in their communities. Read more about each school’s projects on the inside!

“The most important thing I learned from being in TOP is that we are all here for a reason, to help our community and make our world a better place. What I’ve experienced from volunteering is that there are people in the world who have it worse than us and we shouldn’t take things for granted.” –Benson student

Benson

Madison Jefferson Grant

BENSON HIGH SCHOOL TOP students helped prepare and serve meals for people who are homeless and staffed a Food Pantry Day for families in need. They also volunteered at the Doernbecher Cookie Bake fundraiser event by baking, ushering and cleaning throughout the day.

GRANT HIGH SCHOOL This is our first year at Grant High School and it’s been an exciting one so far! As an in-school service project, TOP students created T-shirts with messages and facts about important topics, and students from all four TOP classes wore their t-shirts on the same day. Out of class volunteer projects included helping out at the Doernbecher Cookie Bake Fundraiser, planting trees with Friends of Trees and serving food to the homeless at Clay Street Table.

JEFFERSON HIGH SCHOOL TOP students at Jefferson have been very busy! All students participated in the “Don’t be a Statistic!” project, researching causes ranging from diabetes to child abuse and beyond. They created T-shirts, handouts and 30-second speeches to share with their peers. Many students volunteered at the Holiday Cookie Bake to benefit the Doernbecher Children’s

Hospital by making cookies, wiping tables and cleaning trays. Students also made 150 holiday greeting cards for the families of Doernbecher patients.

LEP HIGH SCHOOL Students participated in World AIDS Day by making outreach materials to raise awareness about those affected by HIV/AIDS and how people can protect themselves against the disease. After learning about the experiences of homeless youth, TOP students decided to make blankets and donate them to local youth shelters for the winter. In addition, some students wrote letters to U.S. troops who are away from their families. MADISON HIGH SCHOOL TOP is excited to be working with the entire sophomore class this year and groups are already busy with projects! Some classes held fundraisers — making over $400 to support the school’s food pantry. Other groups volunteered at Schoolhouse Supplies, a free store for teachers. All of the groups helped the SUN School host Halloween and winter-themed community events with TOP students running games and craft activities for kids.

MCKAY HIGH SCHOOL Students started off the year with a sock drive for homeless youth in Marion County, where they collected over 100 pairs of socks. Other students helped beautify Salem by cleaning up local parks and raking leaves at a women’s shelter. McKay Students also volunteered at Marion-Polk Food Share and served free Thanksgiving dinners to their community. Recently, they sorted donated toys with the Salvation Army.

HIGH SCHOOL UPDATES

Jefferson

LEP

McKay

North SalemGrant

NORTH SALEM HIGH SCHOOL TOP groups have been super busy; by semester’s end they will have completed over 20 projects! Some of the projects include assisting Four Corners Elementary Family Event Nights each month, helping abused and neglected farm animals at Green Acres Farm Sanctuary, assisting with tree planting with Friends of Trees and fundraising for children with cancer.

ROOSEVELT HIGH SCHOOL TOP students at RHS have participated in many projects so far this year. In some classes, students chose a cause they were passionate about and made T-shirts or buttons to wear at school to share what they learned with their peers. Some volunteered at a retirement home to paint the residents’ nails. Others made blankets and cards for children in the hospital or cards for troops. Students also raised awareness and attended an event for World AIDS Day.

MadisonMcKay

Benson

Roosevelt

North Salem

959The number of

TOP participants in 2014/15

5,068The number of volunteer hours

(so far) this school year!

93The number of organizations

students have volunteered with since TOP started in 2011

Jefferson

TOP is facilitated by highly trained, certified & experienced educators

Ann Krier, TOP Facilitator (ann.krier@ppcw.org)North Salem High School Co-Facilitator: Aurora Rodriguez

Megan Ackerman, TOP Facilitator & CSL Coordinator (megan.ackerman@ppcw.org)Madison High School Co-Facilitator: Annie Fidler*

Aurora Rodriguez, TOP Co-Facilitator (aurora.rodriguez@ppcw.org)McKay & North Salem High Schools

Misha Mayers, TOP Facilitator (misha.mayers@ppcw.org)McKay High School Co-Facilitator: Aurora Rodriguez

Austin Lea, TOP Facilitator (austin.lea@ppcw.org)Benson & Madison High Schools Co-Facilitators: Ngozi Olemgbe, Annie Fidler*

Missy Hovland, Temp. TOP Facilitator (missy.hovland@ppcw.org)McKay & North Salem High Schools Co-Facilitator: Aurora Rodriguez

Carla Remeschatis, TOP Facilitator (carla.remeschatis@ppcw.org)Grant & Jefferson High Schools Co-Facilitator: Ngozi Olemgbe

Ngozi Olemgbe, TOP Co-Facilitator (ngozi.olemgbe@ppcw.org )Benson, Grant & Jefferson High Schools

Ernesto Dominguez, TOP Facilitator (ernesto.dominguez@ppcw.org)Madison High School Co-Facilitator: Annie Fidler*

Olivia Jarratt, TOP Facilitator (olivia.jarratt@ppcw.org)LEP & Roosevelt High Schools Co-Facilitators: Cameron Baker*, Nikia Cummings*

Jana Deiss, TOP Facilitator (jana.deiss@ppcw.org)Jefferson & Roosevelt High Schools Co-Facilitators: Ngozi Olemgbe, Andriana Alexis*

This project is supported by Grant Number TP1AH000075 from the Office of Adolescent Health. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the Office of Adolescent Health, the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, or the Department of Health and Human Services.

Administrative Contact503.775.4931 x 2346 education@ppcw.org www.ppcw.org www.wymancenter.org

* These Co-Facilitators are affiliated with the following organizations: Andriana Alexis (Step-Up), Cameron Baker (LEP), Nikia Cummings (Step-Up), Annie Fidler (SUN School)