Ideas for Starting a Teen Center - Case Study Example

prepared Proposal for a Teen Center INTRODUCTION Lawton,Oklahoma has a teen population of about 900,000 Brain.com. 2009) in 2007, 86 out of 1,000 young women get pregnant in a year (Amplify. 2009). Intensified by the fact that there is high incidence of crimes done by this age group, Lawton’s local officials should come up with various activities to be implemented by teenagers, for the betterment of their fellow teenagers. Oklahoma already has an existing youth center being run and operated by the Office of Juvenile System Oversight (OJSO) called the Oklahoma Youth Center. Its program encompasses Training Schools, Shelters, Detention Centers, Maternity Centers and Emergency Health Care facilities among others. However, I believe that it is mostly on the prevention of these cases that the government should focus on. With this, the undersigned proposes for the creation for an innovative youth center in the city that would serve best to the interest of the young population. This youth center shall be called Young Ones, a center dedicated to provide the youth of Oklahoma with alternative ways to spend their time, energy and talents to help them improve their lives and learn about personal and social responsibility. Young Ones will primarily focus on educating the youth and encouraging them to participate actively in social affairs by enhancing their own abilities to contribute to the society. 2. DISCUSSION To achieve this objective, assistance from various groups and sectors shall be greatly needed. Young Ones will be spearheaded by young university volunteers from the University of the Oklahoma. This group, consisting of 10 university students would have their own focus in putting together the youth center. There will be a Marketing Committee, Operations Committee and Finance Committee that would be involved in the project. The task of the Marketing Committee is to find partners and advertise the existence of the youth center. The Marketing Committee is in charge of establishing partnerships with various sectors to help fund the program. They will also organize fund raising projects such as benefit concerts and exhibits of works done by fellow youth. Pilot project involves the implementation of a series of fund-raising concerts that will showcase youth bands and artists from the city. To achieve this, the Marketing Committee shall get sponsorships from brands that support youth activities such as Nike and Adidas, among others, and also from the local government groups such as the city government, city police, among others. Young Ones will also accept donations from other sectors and would solicit for free venues and free production assistance from other nearby colleges and universities. Local celebrities who advocate similar causes shall be invited to join as well to provide highlight to the event. Funds will be allocated to rental and operations of Young Ones. Young Ones targets to primarily serve out-of-school youths who desire to enhance their skills but have no means to do so. However, it will also prioritize schooled individuals and other teenagers and encourage them to make use of their time wisely by joining Young Ones. The target area for the operations is initially in Oklahoma State University, whereby a building shall be rented to serve this purpose, subsidized by the city government for this purpose. This Youth Center would provide the following programs: 1. Tutorial and workshops for Arts and Music – The Operations Committee will entail the aid of local professors to share part of their time in educating the youth on Arts and Music. This includes workshops and classroom discussions, and eventually, training on performing for an audience. This way, the kids are taught how to be self-reliant and creative, and to express themselves in many alternative ways. 2. Sports Clinics – Instructors shall teach various sports activities such as soccer, basketball, tennis, among others. These activities are focused on physical development and getting the youth busy on something else to lead them away from crimes, sex and drugs. In partnership with various brands that offer sports among the youth, the sports clinic shall go around the town to encourage memberships and to show off the talents that the clinic is able to develop. 3. Clean and Green Environmental Activities – As part of the youth’s training on social responsibility, various environmental projects shall be promoted. Each youth group shall be asked to touch base with local communities in creating activities such as tree-planting, waste management, etc. They are responsible in creating campaign materials for this cause. Giving the youth a responsibility towards the environment will give them a sense of self-worth and belongingness. 4. There will be a medical clinic that would offer free medical assistance to the youth. Medical volunteers shall be asked to head the team that would provide free examinations for teens. The clinic also may recommend additional medication c/o local hospitals to individuals who might need it. Medical assistance may include dental services, psychological or psychiatric therapy, among others. 5. Housing facility for in-house registrants who need temporary shelter. – Young Ones will also provide temporary shelter for teens that need it while awaiting action from the Office of Juvenile System Oversight. 6. 2-year program that provides out-of-school youth trainings for livelihood program and computer studies. This will offer scholarships to the deserving ones. Scholarship includes board and lodging, and after graduation, the graduates will also graduate from the home but can work for the youth center as teacher-volunteer for whatever category they will fit. 3. FUNDING AND SUPPORT Listed below are the initial budgetary requirements for Young Ones: Rental Charges for the first six months of Operations $ 3,000.00 Operational Costs for the Arts/ Music and Sports Classes for the first six months (instructors are volunteers so they won’t have salaries) $ 2,000.00 Operational Costs for the Medical Clinic for the first six months (this include basic facilities and services) $ 5,000.00 Housing facility, including lodging and board, acquisition of basic lodging paraphernalia such as beds and blankets, kitchen needs, etc. This can accommodate up to 50 people at one time. $ 8,000.00 Course Program dedicated to teach livelihood and basic computer skills to teenagers. $ 5,000.00 Miscellaneous Expenses for the first 6 months. $ 5,000.00 Estimated Total $ 28,000.00 Young Ones needs collective support from the city government of Oklahoma to achieve these objectives, and to be able to raise funds to commence operations of this Youth Center. To start with, the organizers will seek for financial assistance from the Office of Juvenile System Oversight by requesting for subsidy on the rental costs. It will also ask support directly from the office of the city mayor for financial aid. Promotions of this project shall be requested from the Office of Public Affairs, to be able to get support and exposure from potential sponsors from commercial groups and non-government organizations. Schools and Universities shall be tapped so the could send their best professors and instructors to support the program at no cost. Advocates of youth-oriented programs shall be considered as partners towards the achievement of the goals. The creation of a youth center would definitely create an alternative means for the youth of Oklahoma to spend their energies. Instead of being beguiled into doing drugs and be involved ion violence and getting into teenage pregnancies, the youth center would make the teenagers busy enough to focus their time and energy on cause-oriented activities that would benefit them in the long run. With this, the author would like to appeal to the City Mayor Mick Cornett, to help this vision turn into a reality by giving his full support to the project. On a personal note, the author relates to the problem, having a brother who has been involved in drugs due to peer pressure and influence. An active youth center could have prevented this to happen, given that he did not have any other extra-curricular activity in between and school and home. The youth center aims to address the growing concern over youth problems, and it is essential for the city government to give a considerable amount of attention to this problem. The volunteers have dedicated themselves to putting together this project, and looks forward to recruiting other individuals who would spend as much time and energy towards the achievement of the goals. The city government would highly benefit from the success of this project, as this would reflect their dedication towards the improvement of their constituents’ lives – the very cause of a government’s existence. Works Cited “Amplify Record Card: Oklahoma”. Amplify 2009. March 19, 2009. http://www.amplifyyourvoice.org/main.cfm?s=amplify&actionId=globalShowStaticContent&screenKey=cmpState&htmlKey=stateOklahoma “U.S Census Bureau”. ClassBrain.Com. March 19, 2009. http://www.classbrain.com/artstate/publish/article_1257.shtml Read More