Game Plan for  Success was established in January of 2009 with the support of Logan County Department of Social Services.  Family Resource Center had been participating in local Truancy Team meetings. The multi-agency Truancy Team was assembled by presiding Chief Judge Curt Penny of Colorado's 13th Judicial District.  He was inspired by presentations he heard at the 2008 Colorado Summit on Children, Youth and Families. As the team discussed local truancy issues, Judge Penny showed an interest in exploring various truancy intervention models.  Simultaneously, Family Resource Center's Director was participating in a year long leadership training facilitated by Community Resource Center in Denver.  The Anschutz Foundation generously provided a scholarship for this opportunity.  Out of the training arose an acquaintance with the director of Colorado Youth at Risk(CYAR) (www.coyar.org) , Patti Bennett.  CYAR provides mentors for youth in the inner city.  The  youth face challenges that may prevent them from graduating from high school.  Karen and Patti began an urban/rural alliance.  Colorado Youth at Risk became a mentor and model for a northeastern Colorado plains program. 

In January of 2009 FRC received funding from Logan County Department of Social Services to launch Game Plan for Success.  In the first year community leaders were invited to participate in a Foundation Workshop, which gave them a taste of what the program has to offer.  26 Community leaders dedicated an entire day to learning and conversing about the program.  Later, 160 eighth grade youth heard a presentation about the program.  Out of those presentations, 23 youth expressed interest in the program.   Another 20 were referred by teachers. All were interviewed by the Game Plan for Success program manager.  The parents of interested youth were then invited to hear a presentation and to complete enrollment forms.  16 youth completed enrollment.   Simultaneously, adults in the community were invited to become mentors.  The Mentors receive approximately 40 hours of wonderful and inspiring training to prepare them to meet and support their young person. The training is of value, not only for mentoring, but for personal and workplace relationships.  Training took place from June through October of 2009.  Mentors were matched with students in late October of 2009.  This program has the potential to transform an entire community by giving youth the message that the community values and supports them. Potential measurements of success are: a decrease in truancy, an improvement in grades, stronger relationships between teachers and students, fewer behavior problems in school and, eventually, an increased rate of graduation.  The local school district immediately embraced this project.  The community also embraced the project, as indicated by 16 mentors stepping forward to coach students. During the first year the number of mentors and students reached as high as 19, but some attrition occurred, resulting in 16 mentors and youth completing the school year.

Game Plan for Success is now in the second year. Some of the current mentors will continue supporting their youth into their sophomore year. 40 youth showed an interest in the program going into the 2010-2011 school year. 12 youth elected to enroll. in 2010, the program received requests from parents who want a youth to be accepted into the program. Successful mentors are caring adults who are interested in the life of a teenager, willing to try on new perspectives, think outside the box, open to discussions about the decisions teens are making and willing to "have their backs" no matter what. To make a difference in the lives of youth in our community, become a mentor. To inquire about becoming a mentor, call Erica Pijoan at 970-526-2439.  

Dates of trainings are listed on our calendar.