PACCT News

Last Update September 23, 2007

Join Us for the 2007 Asset Builder of the Year Awards!

Date: Friday, November 2, 2007
Place: Green Gables Country Club
Time: 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM
Cost: $40 per person, or $400 to sponsor a table
Speaker: Dave Thomas, Former District Attorney of the First Judicial District

For additional information, or to nominate an award winner, please click here.

Tips For Teens: Build Your Own Assets

Read Tips For Teens: Build Your Own Assets.

40 different Developmental Assets ^®

40 different Developmental Assets are commonly present in the lives of the most successful and emotionally healthy youth. Listed below are articles detailing how you can be an asset builder.

Asset Building

Asset Building happens in a variety of ways, in a variety of places. Search Institute^® says that Asset Building is thousands and thousands of experiences and opportunities. Below is an example of how a particular program strengthened the lives of two very special people by being intentional and focusing on the positive.

Hello Everyone! My name is Kelly Burke and I participated in the Adaptive Aquatics program through Foothills Swim Team and I have to say that working with those kids was one of the most fun and rewarding experiences of my life. I worked with a young girl named Lindsey and there is one shining moment that I remember very clearly; it was her birthday and everyone on the team gathered in a circle around her and sang her happy birthday. You should have seen her face light up. She was the happiest person in the world and that moment made everything worth it. Lyndsey gave me so much respect and taught me so many valuable lessons:

She taught me that nothing is stronger than gentleness, happiness begins where selfishness ends, and to treat everyone with dignity and respect.

She also showed me how much she loved life and people. She would always want to play games with other kids in the group and every time she did something right; she would give me the biggest hug you can imagine. I remember the last day of the program. Lyndsey was so upset that it was over that she refused to get out of the pool. Lyndsey is a very beautiful young woman and I hope she succeeds in everything she does because she deserves it. I hope she is participating in the program starting in October because I look forward to working with her again. I watched my teammates work with other children in the group and the joy in their faces was just as great as the joy in Lyndsey's. I think that my teammates were enjoying the experience just as much, if not more than the kids in the program. It's amazing what this program did for all of us. These kids could take the worst situation and make it fun. I could come in having the worst day of my life and leave with the biggest smile. I remember people counting down the minutes of a grueling Saturday morning practice just because they were so excited to work with the kids in this program. I can't think of any other program, besides, FST, that is that rewarding of an experience. It changed not only my life and the lives of my teammates but the lives of the kids and parents in the program. I want to thank you all as well as Tony, and applaud you for setting up this program because it really taught me a lot about myself and in the process, I made a new best friend. Nothing can give you greater joy than doing something for another and I thank you for giving me that opportunity.