Girl Scouts
Train For Leadership Roles In Their Communities

The Volunteer Center of Bergen County presented the first Youth Leadership Camp for the Community After School Academy at the Hackensack Middle School last summer. Eleven students participated in an innovative program which provides young people with leadership skills to play active roles in their local communities. This training was developed by Prudential and is now administered by the Points of Light Foundation. It is an interactive program highlighting team building, communication and leadership development while, at the same time, helping students learn how to define a viable community need, develop a project to address that need, and implement the project . The program is designed to provide the teens with an exciting learning experience while providing them with the techniques they will need to become effective leaders in the years ahead, whether in their school or in the community.

The Hackensack Middle School students are currently working on the service project that they researched and designed last summer. They identified cyber-bullying and risky online practices and designed a project that they will implement over several months during the school year. They are reaching out to their school community through publications, such as flyers and newsletters, and through the school TV station to educate students about cyber safety, and they are writing, rehearsing and presenting skits to demonstrate their points. This project will have real value to the students and to the school as students learn to use computers in a fun, safe and effective way and stay away from practices that can cause irreparable harm or put students at risk of harm. Hats off to these creative middle school students!

Find out more about Points of Light Youth Leadership Institute at www.pyli.org. The Volunteer Center of Bergen County is certified to deliver this unique, stimulating, challenging and FUN program. To find out more contact demery@bergenvolunteers.org or call 201-489-9454, ext. 18.