Partners wishes a happy holiday break and warm Thanksgiving to everyone! Enjoy the day of thanks and remember to treasure the important things in life, such as family, friends and health. Today, Partners is taking a moment to give thanks to the people who help make the Partners’ mission possible. We are also enjoying some good food and family fun. Here are a few interesting Thanksgiving Day facts to think about while you munch on some turkey, or maybe to-furkey.
Originally known as Macy’s Christmas Parade—to signify the launch of the Christmas shopping season—the first Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade took place in New York City in 1924. It was launched by Macy’s employees and featured animals from the Central Park Zoo. Today, some 3 million people attend the annual parade and another 44 million watch it on television.
Snoopy has appeared as a giant balloon in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade more times than any other character in history. As the Flying Ace, Snoopy made his sixth appearance in the 2006 parade.
The first time the Detroit Lions played football on Thanksgiving Day was in 1934, when they hosted the Chicago Bears at the University of Detroit stadium, in front of 26,000 fans. The NBC radio network broadcast the game on 94 stations across the country–the first national Thanksgiving football broadcast. Since that time, the Lions have played a game every Thanksgiving (except between 1939 and 1944); in 1956, fans watched the game on television for the first time.
Three towns in the U.S. take their name from the traditional Thanksgiving bird, including Turkey, Texas (pop. 465); Turkey Creek, Louisiana (pop. 363); and Turkey, North Carolina (pop. 270).
Sarah Josepha Hale, the enormously influential magazine editor and author who waged a tireless campaign to make Thanksgiving a national holiday in the mid-19th century, was also the author of the classic nursery rhyme “Mary Had a Little Lamb.”
We thought these facts were pretty cool. If you would like more fun facts on Turkey Day, check out History Channel’s Thanksgiving Day site, http://www.history.com/content/thanksgiving, where these fascinating facts came from.
Thank you for helping to make the Partners’ mission possible and contributing to the youth’s lives we serve.
At Partners Mentoring Youth, we are well aware of the benefits of mentoring the youth in our community. We have come to see the effects first hand and really believe in what we are doing for our community. Now it seems that mentoring is a hot topic among the leaders of our nation. On Monday, Nov. 2, Michelle Obama launched a mentoring program for women in Washington D.C. The program intends to inspire sophomore and junior girls from public and private high schools across Washington, Maryland and Virginia by allowing them to network with accomplished, successful women.
We know that youth who have positive adult role models in their life tend to have increased self-esteem, academic achievement and more future-orientated thinking. Mrs. Obama understands this need in our society. Since becoming first lady, she said starting this program was one of her biggest goals. “It’s also about understanding that all of us have had challenges and bumps along the way, and to know that there’s just a level of moving through it that all of us have had to do,” she said.
What do the youth involved in the program have to do to be apart of this program? Mrs. Obama told the students. “When you get to this position in your life that you do the same thing for somebody else.”
Partners appreciates Mrs. Obama’s initiation on such an important issue. Some of the other women involved include advisers Valerie Jarrett and Melody Barnes as well as 16 other White House staffers. The White House says a similar program for boys will be launched soon.
Do you have plans this Saturday? How about a relaxing visit to ChiroCare! Drs. Koepp, Ullom and Coleman are offering consultations, evaluation procedures and a follow up report related to any health care challenges for a $39 donation. Not to mention that throughout the day there will be gift bags, mini massages and drawings every 30 minutes. Enter to win a one night stay at Embassy Suites Hotel and dinner on the town or two nights in a condo in Steamboat Springs, CO.
All the donations from this event will benefit Partners, so be sure to stop by and check it out! For more information, take a look at the flyer.
Keeping up with the needs of the youth in one’s community, as well as the national trends and research on the best ways to serve them, is an ongoing goal of any youth service provider. At a time when serving the number of youth in need of a mentor is increasingly challenging due to limited resources, Partners Mentoring Youth looks to partnerships in the community and creativity in programming to meet this challenge.
This fall, Partners is excited to serve more youth in our community through utilizing mentors in a school setting. According to MENTOR: Research in Action Series (2006), issue 6, as cited on mentoring.org, the mentoring field has seen unprecedented growth in the last 10 years. Much of that growth has occurred in the area of School Based Mentoring (SBM).
This research article states that “School Based Mentoring is now the most common form of formal mentoring in the U.S., surpassing traditional community-based mentoring.” A more recent publication (2009) put out by mentoring.org highlights some SBM success stories as well as promising programs. It explains that youth coming out of high-quality School Based Mentoring programs show positive improvement in the areas of school performance, attitudes and behavior, and peer relationships.
This information is exciting because it further qualifies the decision Partners has made to implement School Based Mentoring as a component of its services. This program was born through collaborative efforts between Partners Mentoring Youth, Poudre School District and Colorado State University School of Social Work and is piloting this fall at Rocky Mountain High School. The hope is to eventually grow the program to other schools within the district in years to come, following best-practice recommendations in the area of SBM, but closely following an already existing and successful SBM program run by the Route County Partners affiliate.
Partners is committed to continuing to serve youth in Larimer County through high-quality mentoring services, and is pleased to be working with partners in the school district to serve youth who might not otherwise receive mentoring services. Partners is happy to grow services at a time when many are limited. The youth in our community deserve the opportunity to grow!
Partners had a record turnout for Running of the Bulls this year! Nearly 300 runners and walkers participated to support Partners Mentoring Youth. The elk were bugling on the golf course during the race and the weather was fantastic. Thanks to the help of a dedicated Advisory Council, helpful Fort Collins staff, and enthusiastic race day volunteers, the event was a success. Final numbers aren’t in yet, but it is estimated that $10,400 was raised!
This little guy was thrilled to support Running of the Bulls!
Join Partners in Estes Park this Saturday for the 5th Annual Running of the Bulls
Join Partners on Saturday, Sept. 26 for the 5th Annual Running of the Bulls. Starting and finishing at Lake Estes Marina, this gorgeous 3.75 mile run/walk course will take you around Lake Estes where you can take in the beautiful fall colors while your feet pound the pavement. What better of an excuse to visit Estes Park while the trees are changing in the beautiful Rocky Mountains than for a good cause? This unique high-altitude course (7,600 ft.) offers stunning views of the snow capped peaks in Rocky Mountain National Park .
Children can participate in the FREE 1 mile run called the Junior stampede.
Last year was a record number of participants raising $5,500 for Partners programs.
Visit our website for more information and to register for Saturday’s race.
This video was shot by Estes Park News for last year’s event, check it out!
Partners would also like to thank our sponsors for making this beautiful event happen!
Partners has a new Program Coordinator, Jill Homann.
Partners Mentoring Youth is pleased to introduce its new Program Coordinator for the Fort Collins office, Jill Homann.
As a Program Coordinator, Jill will provide support to the volunteers, youth and families served through Partners’ one-to-one mentoring program. She is excited to use her experience to make a positive impact on youth in Larimer County. “At Partners I have an opportunity to work directly with the youth and their families, as well as the dedicated volunteers. It’s a unique experience to be able to work with both.”
Originally from Sturgis, S.D., Jill has been in and out of Fort Collins since 1997. After receiving both her Bachelors and Masters Degrees in Social Work from Colorado State University, she searched for an opportunity to make an impact.
Prior to starting at Partners, she worked with Youth Wise in South Dakota, a diversion program focused on increasing graduation rates and reducing dropout rates amongst high school students. Most recently, she served as the Volunteer Coordinator for Denver Hospice.
Gary Walters rollerblades for Mentoring from Minnesota to Washington D.C.
A Minnesota man, Gary Walters, RollerBladed from Minnesota to Washington D.C. for the youth mentoring program, Kinship Partners. (Found on Mentoring.org on September 4, 2009.) After 23 days of traveling across the country with his 15-year-old son, they raised $16,634.75 for youth mentoring programs.
After visiting his website, it is apparent how much he believes in youth mentoring. Gary believes that, “If we change a kid’s life, we change the future for all of us.” In the last six years, he has gone to incredible extremes to raise money; including cycling from New Orleans to Brainerd, Minnesota, living on Brainerd’s water tower for nine days, walking across Minnesota, swimming across Mille Lacs Lake, losing 100 pounds and unicycling for 24 hours.
During this journey, they stopped in 24 cities and met with mentoring groups, politicians and the press, trying to get as much publicity for mentoring as possible. Once they reached DC on Sept. 8, they met with Congressman Oberstar to talk about the feat and mentoring.
It is refreshing to hear stories of people as passionate about helping youth as Partners is.
Gary and two of his kids With Congressman Oberstar and John Porcari Deputy Secretary of Transportation
Poudre Fire Department competes in Volleyball at The 2009 SuperStars Sports Challenge
To compare the 29th Annual SuperStars Sports Challenge to the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China…well, that would be a bit of a stretch, but it definitely had its share of drama and glory. Big Wheels toppled over, egos were crushed, and one team stood victorious. Team OtterBox stole the closing ceremony with top finishers in all three prize categories; Top Fundraising Individuals (Senior Partner Shane Rabideau took 2nd Place), Top Fundraising Team (OtterBox came in 1st Place raising $7,000!), and they are also Overall SuperStars Grand Champions thanks to additional points awarded for their fundraising efforts. You can view the complete list of standings on the events page of the Partners website.
In all, 30 teams competed on August 22nd, all but two were formed by local businesses, many in full costume. It was a beautiful Colorado summer’s day at Fossil Creek Park and participants were sweating it out in four sports competitions; volleyball, dodgeball, bocce ball, and a Big Wheels bike relay. Our own Senior Partners even had a team in the fields. In all over 350 people attended this year’s event By the end of the day participants were weary and exhausted…but smiling. In all over $49,000 was raised to support our youth mentoring programs. Partners is truly grateful for all the support and efforts of our sponsors, teams, and volunteers. Thank you to all who helped continue the long standing legacy SuperStars by making this a wonderful and memorable event!
Teams competed in the Big Wheels Race in this year's SuperStars Challenge
Keeping up with the needs of the youth in one’s community, as well as the national trends and research on the best ways to serve them, is an ongoing goal of any youth service provider. At a time when serving the number of youth in need of a mentor is increasingly challenging due to limited resources, Partners Mentoring Youth looks to partnerships in the community and creativity in programming to meet this challenge.
