Twenty five New Castle teens spent a portion of their summers working with New Castle United for Youth – twenty two as youth summer interns and three attending a weekend Youth to Youth student leadership conference.
Under the leadership of social worker Olivia Wilkins and school counselor Kevin Nugent, our interns worked on a wide range of projects and engaged with a variety of Coalition members. Our first group of interns spent time planning ways to engage with the New Castle community and came up with some great ideas for a NCUFY presence at the town summer concerts. Bringing these ideas to life, the interns provided fun activities for kids, information about the Coalition including brochures and wristbands they had designed and prepared non-alcoholic “mocktails” at two of the summer concerts on Recreation Field.
The interns engaged again with the Recreation Department after they learned from Coalition advisor Judy Mezey of Student Assistance Services how to oversee “Escape the Vape” – a fun escape room style puzzle designed to inform kids about the dangers of vaping. They then brought this activity to older middle schoolers attending the Town of New Castle Recreation Department summer camp. The New Castle Police Department also got involved with the interns as Officer Watts visited twice to talk with them about the impacts of drug and alcohol use and to mimic field sobriety tests while wearing “foggles” to simulate being impaired.
Other Coalition members also stepped up to work with the interns. First Congregational Church Reverend Martha Jacobs spent one session with interns telling them about the Youth Volunteer Fair she spearheads each fall. This fair, co-sponsored by NCUFY, is designed to inform teens about great local volunteer opportunities and how being involved in your community can be a protective factor against alcohol and other drug use. In addition to working with Rev. Jacobs on preparations for the Youth Volunteer Fair, our interns helped the Coalition to plan for other upcoming Coalition sponsored events including Community Day, Homecoming, and the Chappaqua Children’s Book Festival.
As the internship entered its final sessions, particpants were ready to begin planning their own events and activities and outlined a plan to bring Red Ribbon Week awareness to Greeley and the New Castle community. One intern who participated in the planning, incoming Greeley freshman Nadia Nabeel, said of the experience “it is a great environment to come up with ideas and then watch them grow even bigger than you imagined.” Another summer intern, rising sophomore Keegan Li, said “NCUFY was an amazing summer experience of working with peers for the cause of stopping substance abuse. I gained many great experiences and the things I learned with the coalition will benefit me as I continue to work with the community.”
While this year’s Youth to Youth conference attendees did not also participate in the internship, they did come away from their weekend experience armed with new knowledge and a desire to work with the Coalition. “Youth to Youth was a great experience in which we learned about the horrendous dangers of drugs and alcohol. It was also a great time to meet new peers and interact with others. I am truly excited to join the coalition here at New Castle and to accomplish even greater tasks for our community!” reported rising sophomore Jason Kang.
We were very lucky to be able to gather such a talented and dedicated group of New Castle teens this summer. We can’t wait to see their continued involvement and where their ideas take them this school year.