Comprehensive Community Planning to Ensure the Five Promises for Youth in Marquette and Alger Counties

Marquette and Alger Counties are proud to have been named one of the 100 Best Communities for Young People in 2008 for the third time in a row. The national competition, sponsored by America's Promise Alliance, honors communities - large and small, urban and rural - for outstanding efforts to make young people a priority.

America's Promise Alliance focuses attention and resources to help every child and youth receive the Five Promises essential to their success:
     1. Caring adults who are actively involved in their lives
     2. Safe places in which to learn and grow
     3. A healthy start toward adulthood
     4. An effective education that builds marketable skills
     5. Opportunities to help others

Building upon the information gathered in applying for the 100 Best Communities for Young People designation, the Great Lakes Center for Youth Development led a comprehensive community assessment and planning process to determine how to best ensure that all kids in Marquette and Alger counties receive the Five Promises.

The following strategies for each of the Five Promises were the end result of the planning process. The strategies have been presented to the Marquette Family Coordinating Council and Alger County Community Collaborative to be incorporated into the communities.

1. Caring Adults
- Encourage adults to mentor young people
- Increase adults' awareness of their responsibilities to youth as well as opportunities for them to support youth

2. Safe Places
- Expand and support after-school and summer programs for youth
- Publicize existing online "community calendars" to parents and youth as ways to learn about opportunities that are currently available

3. A Healthy Start
- Advocate for increased physical education, recess and nutrition in schools
- Secure funding and improve collaboration to provide healthy relationship education beginning in elementary school

4. An Effective Education
- Increase opportunities for parents to be involved in school
- Promote and support enrichment activities in and out of school

5. Opportunities to Help Others
- Promote U.P. 2-1-1, the number to call to find services and volunteer opportunities available to youth and families in the U.P.
- Publicize 1-800-Volunteer.org and encourage organizations to work effectively with youth volunteers

For an overview of the assessment and planning process by Martha E. Parks, Consultant, click here. For a spreadsheet of programs and services that are working to fulfill the Five Promises in Marquette and Alger Counties, click here.