•The Northfield High School for the 10th Grade Career Fair.  The high school will host a career fair for all 10th grade students, giving them an opportunity to explore career interests and make connections with adult community members.  At the career fair, community members will speak to students about their careers and answer any questions that the students may have.  Juniors and seniors from the high school will be involved with the planning and implementation of the career fair.  The event follows a “Career Opportunities” lesson taught in all 10th grade classrooms.

•Northfield Area Learning Center students for the BWCAW Experience.  A group of students at the Northfield Area Learning Center (ALC) is planning a trip to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.  They are working to raise the money needed to outfit themselves and two chaperones for the experience, which is planned for mid-June.  The trip offers outdoor experiences for youth who have never had them before and provides a place to talk about the life choices and challenges each student faces.

•Northfield Middle School TORCH for Celebrate Success.  The middle school TORCH (Tackling Obstacles and Raising College Hopes) program is planning a celebratory gathering for all middle school TORCH students who make the honor roll (earn a 2.6 GPA or greater) at the end of each of the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th quarters.  Each event would be held at the Northfield Middle School, where qualifying TORCH students will enjoy a pizza party and a movie.  Middle school administrators will be invited to these events.

•Vayu Maini Rekdal, freshman at Carleton College.  Rekdal and fellow members of the Carleton cooking club, FireBellies, will be giving cooking lessons to students of the Northfield Middle School Youth Center.  Carleton students will teach basic cooking skills, sustainability, and nutrition, while promoting an understanding of different cultures and cuisines.

•Jennifer Lompart, teacher at Northfield High School.  Ms. Lompart will host a celebratory gathering for all English as Second Language (ESL) students who have achieved good grades in all of their classes at the end of each of the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th quarters.  At each event, students and their parents will gather to eat, visit, and watch a movie.

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HCI offers mini-grants to projects and activities that:

• provide the opportunity for young people to develop positive intergenerational relationships with caring adults and/or
• connect Northfield youth with their communities (ex. neighborhood, school, wider Northfield)

Applications are reviewed monthly and are due by the second Monday of the month.  Visit www.northfieldhci.org/mini-grants for more information and to access the easy-to-complete application.

Funding for the HCI mini-grants comes from the Northfield Area United Way, Women In Northfield Giving Support (WINGS), and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

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Funded HCI mini-grant projects:

• allow Northfield young people to develop positive intergenerational relationships with caring adults and/or
• connect Northfield youth with their communities (ex. neighborhood, school, greater Northfield)

A record number of projects — nearly 70% — were designed and/or implemented by youth themselves.

HCI wishes to offer special thanks to the 2010-11 funders of the mini-grants program, including:

• Northfield Area United Way
• Women In Northfield Giving Support
• Carlson Capital Management

HCI is currently accepting applications for its 2011-12 mini-grants.  These are reviewed monthly by the HCI Board.  For more information, visit the HCI mini-grants webpage.

Now through December 10, please visit Verizon Wireless World (400 W. 5th Street – next to Caribou Coffee).  All proceeds (100% of retail value) from accessory sales during these three days will be donated to HCI.  100%!  Thus, if you buy a $20 cell phone cover, HCI will receive all $20!

This is a great chance to do your holiday shopping and benefit a local nonprofit at the same time.

For an informational flyer from Verizon Wireless World, click HERE.

Don’t forget to visit Verizon Wireless World from now through Saturday, December 10, 2011!

To RSVP for the Northfield training (where space is limited), please contact Heather Kuehl (hkuehl@ricecountychc.com OR 507-403-9696) by Friday, November 11.  No RSVP is necessary for the Faribault training.

The training will be led by Jay Jaffee, the Minnesota Department of Health’s Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Prevention Coordinator.

For an informational flyer on the training, please click HERE.  Continuing education credits are available.

The training will be led by Jay Jaffee, the Minnesota Department of Health’s Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Prevention Coordinator.

To RSVP for the Northfield training (where space is limited), please contact Heather Kuehl (hkuehl@ricecountychc.com OR 507-403-9696) by Friday, November 11.  No RSVP is necessary for the Faribault training.

For an informational flyer on the training, please click HERE.  Continuing education credits are available.

The response was fantastic, with many creative youth taking up the challenge. Ten finalists have been selected!  Now the cyberbullying video PSA contest needs your vote!   

We have posted the 10 finalists here. Vote for your favorite by September 30.  The top vote getter will receive one of the $200 prizes!

Share the link. Watch the videos. Cast your vote!

The piece highlights some of the amazing results that Connected Kids has seen among the youth participating in the program.

To learn more about Connected Kids and Northfield’s other mentoring programs — or to sign up to be  mentor, visit the Northfield Mentoring Coalition website.

The Chemical Health Coalition is committed to preventing alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use and abuse among Rice County youth.  In  order to keep doing this important work, we must have the influence and perspective of local young people.

Youth members will give input/ideas and will help complete projects and programs of the coalition.

Participating youth will:

• Care about keeping their peers safe and healthy
• Attend 5 meetings/year (Oct., Nov., Jan., March & May) and other small group meetings
• Receive a stipend for their time
• Be eligible to receive youth leadership training and attend other learning opportunities

To access the application form, click HERE.

Applications are due by 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday, September 20, 2011.

For questions or more information, contact Shelly Cole at Cole.Michelle@Mayo.edu

As reported recently in the Northfield News, Sheltering Arms Foundation Executive Director Denise Mayotte noted: “We were impressed with the great use the PRIMEtime Collaborative makes of community resources and how committed it is to providing high quality programming for the kids.  The collaborative uses a large number of volunteers from both the town and the local colleges and links schools and out-of-school-time programs in a way that we think can serve as a model for other communities.”

As a partner in the PRIMEtime collaborative, the Healthy Community Initiative will assist in the administration of the Sheltering Arms grant.

The Sheltering Arms Foundation’s mission is to invest in the lives of Minnesota’s children and help them reach their full potential.

Only FOUR DAYS REMAIN to submit your public service announcement (PSA) around cyberbullying and/or responsible technology use.

The contest is open to those of all ages.  The videos should be 30-90 seconds in length and can be aimed at a youth audience, or can be focused on what parents and other adult community members can do to prevent cyberbullying.

There will be up to three $200 prizes.  Click HERE for contest rules and guildelines.

You have until 11:59 p.m. on MONDAY (August 15, 2011) to submit your entry.

Don’t miss the chance!