Campaign Aims to Change Perspectives on Youth

Denver, CO - Assets for Colorado Youth (ACY) announces the launch of a new Take Action Campaign, One Million Voices for Youth™. The campaign is an effort to highlight the strengths of youth in Colorado and cause people to think differently about how they live and work with the diverse group of young people in our state. Youth and adults will benefit from turning their focus to youths' many talents, resources, and contributions. The campaign is aimed at changing the focus of public opinion to strengths and not just problems - opportunities and not just challenges.

"Too many of our leaders in community are focused on what's wrong with our young people - what's broken that needs to be fixed. This perspective disregards a young person's ability to be a successful and responsible member of the community. By reframing the perception of young people in the minds of the adults in Colorado and highlighting and building upon the strengths they possess, we can change the landscape in Colorado so that adults see young people as full of promise-whether that's as a legislator considering policy that affects youth programming, or a teacher working with students differently, or a parent raising socially responsible children," says Dr. Maria Guajardo Lucero, Executive Director of Assets for Colorado Youth.

The main thrust of the One Million Voices for Youth Campaign is to work with youth-serving organizations, schools, businesses, health, prevention professionals and congregations statewide to collect a list of one million strengths youth have that make them special. Once collected, the one million strengths will be presented to the governor's office, elected officials, the Department of Education, and other leaders in business and the community to engender greater support for our youth. The goal of the campaign is to change behavior by changing perspective.

"The One Million Voices for Youth campaign is both a reminder and a wake-up call that young people have a multitude of talents to tap into, if we will only just recognize them," said Jill O'Dell with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment's Youth Partnership for Health. "It is time to see them as the creative, passionate members of the community they are."

Campaign information and resources are available online from the One Million Voices for Youth web site at www.millionvoicesforyouth.org, by email to millionvoicesforyouth@buildassets.org, or by calling Assets for Colorado Youth at 303/832-1587.

Assets for Colorado Youth (ACY) is a statewide nonprofit organization that promotes positive youth development. Through relationship-building, training, and resources ACY works to strengthen the network of support young people have at home, in school, and in the community so that they can thrive.

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