By Sarah Averbeck, Young Adult Leader
Healthy Teens Coalition met for our monthly meeting on September 8th at Desoto Boys & Girls Club. The meeting was celebrated with some of the Club members preparing dinner for our Teen Health Educators! This was a great opportunity for our team to discuss new ideas and catch up. It was also fantastic to welcome two of the new applicants to the THE program, even before they start their training, who attend the Club regularly. They had a great time and are enthused to learn more about their new role in the community!
Michael Fowler, Teen Program Manager at the Club shares: “partnering with the Healthy Teens has been nothing but an absolute pleasure! Each Teen Health Educator that has walked through our doors has been extremely nice, informative and full of positivity. They have also demonstrated a calm-confidence that allows them to do what they do, but also leads our teens to display the same strength.
“I encourage our members to apply because the impact of educating others goes deeper than the surface. It allows our communities and cities to be better and personally you push yourself to grow and achieve greatness!”
During the meeting, our team had the opportunity to participate in team building activities. First they gathered in pairs and took turns looking at one another for 30 seconds and had to then draw a portrait of their partner from memory. Isn’t it interesting how little we really look at one another, and take in what we see? Especially with Covid-19 meaning we often cover half of our faces, this was a really personal activity, with some fun results!
The next team building activity was centered around being creative in how we teach about our topics. In groups the team created two-minute “lessons” on some of our most popular topics, such as stress and anxiety, but only using objects they could find in the room. This helped them think resourcefully and work together to solve the challenge, and enabled them to grow their skills in a new environment.
We also announced a new partnership for Healthy Teens with Students Working Against Tobacco (SWAT). Most SWAT Clubs operate in local high schools and are about bringing students together to tackle the problems posed by the Big Tobacco firms. SWAT are interested in how their approach will work in the community-wide setting that Healthy Teens provide, and we’re excited to partner with them to increase both awareness and action being taken to reduce tobacco use among our youth.
With thanks again to DeSoto Boys and Girls Club for hosting a wonderful night!
