The Legacy Center Foundation Teen Leadership Program
provides teenagers with skills to recognize and
develop their abilities and potential in order to become healthy and caring
members of our community.
Adapted from an adult training model that has been developed and tested for
the past five decades, Teen Leadership is an innovative training program
which can help teens learn to tackle head-on the issues they are facing in
their own lives.
The Teen Leadership Program operates from the perspective that every
teenager is facing some risks in his or her life. All teenagers are in
great need of support and guidance as they contemplate who they are in
relationship to their families, their friends, and the greater world. The
goal of the program is to empower, coach, and mentor teens and their
parents, whatever risks they may be facing.
What is the specific focus of the Teen Leadership Program?
The Teen Leadership Program provides insights and tools for teenagers to
enhance their self-esteem, improve their ability to communicate clearly, and
to think critically about their problems in the context of the larger
picture of life.
By teaching “emotional Intelligence,” a young adult can increase
self-awareness, self-control, listening skills, and empathy, which can lead
to a happier and healthier life. Teen Leadership focuses on developing teens
as the future leaders of our communities, businesses and the world.
The Teen Leadership Program emphasizes:
* Responsibility and integrity as opportunity to live as a leader.
* Choices – what are my choices, where do I choose from, and
do my choices match up with my heartfelt goals and commitments?
* Setting goals with specific action plans for achieving them. The Teen
Leadership Program uses coaching, role-play exercises, experiential games,
large group and partner discussion, and reflective writing as tools to
increase self-worth and empowerment.
The Program focuses on transformational principles, including, but not
limited to: integrity, choice, vision, responsibility, and possibility.
What else is available in the community for teens?
The Teen Leadership Program is a local alternative that works with teenagers
before their risks escalate. It helps create a support system for teens
and provide them with a framework of life skills to make optimal choices for
themselves throughout life.
Who do parents or teens turn to when they have concerns about the risks they
are facing? Typically, a teenager may have a school counselor or a
therapist. If the concerns are great, perhaps a special program or school
will support the teenager’s special needs.
Usually these are the only choices parents have – either office counseling
sessions with local therapists or an expensive and intensive camp, school or
program away from home. These opportunities are quite costly and are often
only available to those of a particular socio-economic class.
The main hope of a nation lies in the proper education of its youth.
-Erasmus
Did you know that teenagers in the United States are facing terrible risks?
* Every year, 123,400 children are arrested for violent crimes in the United
States.
* Death by suicide has tripled for young adults aged 15 to 24 in the United
States over the past 35 years; it is the 3rd leading cause of death for this
age group.
* Nationwide, 16.9% of high school students had seriously considered attempting suicide during the past year. Overall, the prevalence of having seriously considered attempting suicide was higher among female (21.8%) than male (12.0%) students.
* Almost half (48.3 percent) of Americans aged 12 or older reported being
current drinkers of alcohol.
* Nearly 7.2 million (18.8%) were binge drinkers, and 2.3 million (6.0%) were heavy drinkers.
* Highest prevalence of both binge and heavy drinking was for young
adults aged 18 to 25.
* Nationwide, 18.5% of high school students had carried a weapon (gun, knife, or club) one or more days in the last 30 days. The prevalence of having carried a weapon was higher among male (29.8%) than female (7.1%) students.
* Nationwide, 25.4% of students had been offered, sold, or given an illegal drug by someone on school property during the 12 months preceding the survey.
* Half (50%) of American young people have tried cigarettes by 12th grade.
* Nationwide, 12.3% of high school students had gone without eating for 24 hours or more to lose weight or to keep from gaining weight during the last 30 days.
* Nationwide, 14.3% of high school students had had sexual intercourse with four or more persons during their life.
* Three in ten teenage girls (31%) become pregnant at least once before they reach the age of 20 – more than 750,000 teen pregnancies a year. Eight in ten of these pregnancies are unintended and 81% are to unmarried teens.
The Legacy Center Foundation Teen Program’s goal is to offer training programs that empower, coach, and mentor teens and their parents from all walks of life, whatever risks they may be facing. We are offering the Legacy Leadership for Teens Training, an innovative program that provides teenagers with skills to recognize and develop their abilities and potential.
Adapted from an adult model that has been developed and tested for the past
five decades, the Teen Training is designed to address issues that teens
face in their own lives. The Training provides insights and tools for
teenagers to enhance their self-esteem, improve their ability to communicate
clearly, and to think critically about their problems in the context of the
larger picture of life. By teaching “emotional Intelligence,” a young adult
can increase self-awareness, self-control, listening skills, and empathy,
thereby, becoming healthy and caring members of our community.
Our plan of action focuses on developing teens as the future leaders of our
communities, businesses and the world. This plan includes working with
teens directly, supporting people who work with teens, and providing
resources for people who are developing their own programs for the
development of our “budding” leaders.