2008 Casey Award Winners

Elise Strahan is a junior at Wayne High School in Huber Heights, OH, and has been a member of Warriors Crime Watch since moving to the city in 2004. She currently is serving as President of the group and is considered to be one of the most dedicated and motivated members of the program. She has been involved in a wide array of activities during the past year and was instrumental in planning and organizing last year�s Crime Watch Summer Institute. Currently, she is in charge of planning this year�s Crime Watch conference, for all local YCW-type programs. In the guise of �Safe Side Super Chick,� Elise dresses up and visits local elementary schools to teach children about stranger danger and internet safety; she also has created, produced, and acted in several Safe Side Super Chick videos that are shown to children. Through her efforts, the Warriors have been recognized twice on the local news in the past year.

Amanda is a 16 year old junior attending Jean Ribault Senior High School. An honor student, Amanda has been a part of Youth In Action/Youth Crime Watchers since 2004. She has participated in a wide variety of activities, from positive crime prevention initiatives to community service projects, and has held several Core Group offices in Youth in Action, including team leader, Secretary, and Vice President. Her determination and commitment to the program is outstanding; she consistently meets the challenge of an advanced academic curriculum while at the same time demonstrating outstanding maturity and responsibility in the battle against crime.

Jasmine Means has been a member of the North Manatee Youth Crime Stoppers for six years and is currently serving as the group�s President. She has participated in a wide array of activities and action projects that give back to and help the community. Most recently, her group hosted the annual �Teen Pregnancy/HIV/AIDS Prevention and Awareness Day,� which included speakers from various organizations, free HIV testing, and one-on-one counseling sessions. Jasmine feels that her role as a youth community leader is to find a better way each day to improve her community and to make our society safe.

Mr. Charles Blanchette is one of six YCW advisors at the Alan Shawn Feinstein Middle School in Coventry, RI. Three years ago he helped students at his school to start S.A.V.E. (Students Against Vandalism Everywhere) and a year later he helped bring the organization into YCWA. Now in their second YCW year, S.A.V.E. currently has recruited over 100 students to work on many different projects. Mr. Blanchette is deeply devoted to service learning as a means of teaching youth the importance of civic engagement and community involvement. He has spent hundreds of hours volunteering with S.A.V.E to help his students understand the importance of being responsible citizens, while taking up the challenges of leadership and direct involvement to promulgate the change that YCW strongly promotes. His strong demeanor, authentic leadership style, ability to listen closely to young people, undeterred enthusiasm for participatory democracy, and willingness to move forward to support student initiatives in making a difference sets him apart from the other teachers and characterizes him as a great YCW advisor. Since S.A.V.E.'s inception, he has served as its YCW advisor, motivational leader, guide, supporter, and key fundraiser, generating over $100,000 in funds and donations during the past three years to support the students' service efforts. With the benefit of his support, YCW members have been able to dramatically change the culture of the Feinstein Middle School and have expanded their efforts to address bullying and intimidation, as well as vandalism.

Melanie Killian has worked with the City of Rochester Bureau of Recreation for the past six years and has always been a youth advocate. As a member of AmeriCorps, she helped to create the �Youth Voice, One Vision� (YVOV) television show, a completely youth-created and youth-run television show, and still works weekly with the youth on the show. Under her guidance, the youth create shows about positive things in Rochester, discuss serious youth issues on violence, and crime, and identify what youth can do to prevent them. She also coordinates the Biz Kid$ program, which allows young people to take an idea and form it into a business, serves as the ACT for Youth Coordinator for Monroe County, and engages in one-on-one youth mentoring. No matter which hat she has on, she always encourages youth to have a say or a role in every initiative, and is the first to find and help prepare our youth for different opportunities. She spends countless hours supporting youth with events such as �Steppin� Up to Solutions� and the Youth Expo, and is a source of great support for the advisor for �Youth Voice, One Vision.� Melanie gives countless hours above and beyond her regular expected work week. She has compassion, heart, and perseverance and helps to support youth to be the adults that she believes they can be.

Captain Mark Cowley of the Bingham County, ID, Sheriffs� Office serves as advisor to six active YCW groups with approximately 180 active youth members. His efforts to promote the concept of youth empowerment have led to a wide variety of special initiatives including highway clean-ups, programs to reduce teen pregnancy, and active participation in National Youth Service Day. Captain Cowley and the youth raise an average of $12,000 annually by hosting a fundraising dinner and auction. Thanks to his leadership and mentoring, YCW youth in Bingham County successfully organize and lead two-week summer camps where they target key community issues and develop year-long campaigns to solve these problems. With Captain Cowley�s encouragement, youth recently approached the city council and county commission members and successfully lobbied for the establishment of youth councils. YCW staff dubbed Captain Cowley their �fairy godfather� when he generously brought a trailer of audiovisual equipment, including big screen TV�s, laptops, LCD projectors, and Gameboys to the National Conference in Ogden, UT in 2006 and repeated this in Denver in 2007, hooking up the trailer and driving over 12 hours through mountains just to be a �good neighbor� and help out YCW. Thanks to his youth empowerment efforts, five youth from Idaho will be serving in some leadership capacity in this year�s Y.E.S. Forum and one has joined the YCWA Advisory Board. These youth grow daily through the opportunity of working with Captain Cowley and watching him model quiet effective leadership.

Daniel Bell is a 30-year employee of the City of Jacksonville who oversees four of the city�s local community centers. He is a true volunteer, stepping up to the plate, caring and giving of himself, not just one day but everyday. He is dedicated to youth-led movements in crime prevention and community leadership and exemplifies both leadership and commitment. Although he receives no overtime pay, he regularly keeps a local community center open on Friday nights to give youth a place off the streets to hang out. He encourages young people to come forward and find solutions to problems, and he dedicates his time at the center to helping at-risk youth who have been written off by others. Many young men in the community see him as a father figure and role model who encourages them to stay positive and keep away from drugs and alcohol. Recognizing that today�s youth will be tomorrow�s leaders, he feels that it is essential to prepare young people for the future by providing encouragement and guidance to help them become productive citizens. He sees the Youth Crime Watch family as providing that window of opportunity where youth can take the lead, become positive persons, and encourage other youth to do so as well.

Maria Elena Garza, the principal of Laura Steel Elementary School, takes a hands-on approach to Youth Crime Watch with her students. Whether she is engaged in after-school tutoring, attending every Youth Crime Watch event, making home visits to check in on troubled students, or involved in any of the countless other ways she shows she cares, Mrs. Garza is wholly dedicated to ensuring success for every student in her school. She brought YCW into her school because of her commitment to making positive changes in her school and community. Over the past few years, YCW has become a fixture at Steele. Student leaders raise funds and goods for important causes, tutor and mentor younger kids, host family friendly events, promote drug awareness, and perform as a means of prevention. The program currently has almost 100% campus-wide involvement. Without Mrs. Garza, the YCW program at Laura Steel Elementary School would not exist.

For the second year in a row, Laura Steele Elementary School as been recognized as the Elementary School of the Year. The school has a passionate YCWA whose leaders are all dedicated to keeping their students active and drug free. The YCWA group, which has branched out to have almost 100 percent campus-wide involvement, has facilitated and participated in a number of actions projects, taking a taking a proactive role in solving the problems of their community. Projects have included their �Top Dads� activity, in which female students invite their fathers, grandfathers, uncles, or other male guardians to join them in dance lessons for a period of a few weeks and then perform dance routines for the entire school. Another impressive aspect of the school�s YCW group is their dance team. The team was established to create and enhance student ability to perform academically and socially. The goal is to maintain drug free students and lifelong learners as well as to help mold students in becoming leaders of tomorrow. The Steele Elementary YCWA group is dedicated to doing whatever it takes to make their school and community a better place. For all they have done and continue to do for their school and community- this group is truly exemplifies the spirit of the Casey Awards.

The Feinstein Middle School has a young but extremely passionate YCW group. Three years ago, shocked by the vandalism desecrating an historic cemetery in the town, student Taylor Therrien, with the encouragement of teacher Charles Blanchette, mustered support and formed S.A.V.E. (Students Against Vandalism Everywhere). A year later, the group adopted YCW as their organization�s guiding principles. The group, now known as YCW S.A.V.E., has over 100 student members and works on many crime prevention projects. Projects in 2007 included cleaning up the Sweet-Wightman Historic Cemetery; creating anti-vandalism signs, bookmarks, and bumper stickers, and distributing them to students at six local schools; planting over $6,000 worth of donated landscaping to beautify the school; and creating PowerPoint presentations to educate others in the community about vandalism. They recently met with RI Attorney General Patrick Lynch to discuss vandalism and have developed a web site to promote their activities and inform others about the negative impacts of vandalism and other crimes. Since the group�s inception, they have generated over $100,000 in funds and donations to support their service efforts. They have cultivated partnerships with many public and private sector entities, including the RI Attorney General's office, the RI Department of Education, the RI Historic Cemetery Commission, KIDS Consortium, the Carpenter-Jenks Funeral Home, Coventry Fire Department, and the local Wal-Mart. They also have been involved with a Brandeis University research project to study the elements of an effective service learning project.

For the second year in a row, Warriors Crime Watch at Wayne High School in Huber Heights, OH is the YCWA High School Site of the Year. In operation since March 2003, the group currently has approximately 30 active members, each of whom spends countless hours engaged in activities designed to contribute to the program�s success. The group is extremely innovative in finding new and exciting ways to present its information, using music and informational videos, musical dramas, and skits that are created by the members. The group is almost completely youth-led, with youth members planning and running meetings as well as organizing and completing projects with little or no adult intervention. The drop in crime and violence in their school and community since the program began is clear evidence of the group�s success.

An extremely successful website, www.stopvandalism.net was created by two students at Feinstein Middle School, Joseph Rocchio and Nicholas Paiva, both founding members of the YCW group at their school. The interactive site focuses on extending the reach of S.A.V.E.�s anti-vandalism and anti-bullying message beyond Coventry, to reach other Rhode Island cities and towns, and the entire internet audience. The site focuses on communicating what the group does to address the vandalism problem; educating youth and adults about the costs of vandalism; creating an interactive hotline to allow students and other to safely and anonymously report vandalism, bullying, harassment, and other behaviors; serving as a resource; motivating others to say �NO� to vandalism; and recruiting new members and community p partners. The site averages over 2,000 hits per month from visitors from around the globe. The site�s Interactive Response Form has generated a number of reports alerting the group about incidents, enabling them to deal with the problems quickly and efficiently by referring the information to an administrator, SRO, or local police department for prompt action.

The Rhode Island Expansion Center, originally established in 2001, became the New England Expansion Center (NEAC) in 2006, due to the interest of other New England states in Youth Crime Watch. The Center works on its own and with various partner groups and agencies to establish new YCW sites and to help existing sites thrive and strengthen themselves. Rhode Island currently ahs 42 active sites and more pending. Rhode Island leadership have developed a proactive full-term program model that includes quality training, partnerships with state level agencies, and a commitment to development of youth leadership at the individual site level. One of the key partners to the development of the NEAC has been the Rhode Island Attorney General�s Office, which has adopted the YCW model at the core of its �Third Eye� initiative. This program has not only brought great success this past year, but is a model to be commended to other metropolitan states and regional efforts.

Youth Crime Watch was introduced to Guam in 1997 at a Youth Empowerment Rally. In 2002, YCW exploded throughout the island, with sites being established in communities and schools at all levels. In 2007, the Department of Youth Affairs/Guam Youth Crime Watch Expansion Center established five new sites and engaged in a wide variety of training and other activities. DYA personnel provide trainings at the convenience and availability of the students and advisors; holding sessions before and after school and on weekends. Despite funding limitations, DYA provides support for sites, making items such as walkie-talkies and batteries, safety vests, sun visors, and office supplies available and delivering them to the sites upon request. The DYA shares the same concept of Youth Crime Watch of America, that of �protecting our future leaders�. DYA is committed to upholding the goals and objectives of Youth Crime Watch and continues to support the efforts of youth and advisors in the schools and communities. The efforts of the department and the dedication of the personnel exemplify true leadership. Regardless of limited funding resources, personnel shortages, or even natural disasters, the spirit of Youth Crime Watch continues to be held up with dignity for the sake of our island and foremost our island�s most important resource our youth.

Michael Green has served as District Attorney of Monroe County, NY, since 2004. Under his leadership the office is combating violent crime and homicides by targeting armed violent felons, drug dealers, and those illegally carrying guns. He strongly supports Youth Voice, One Vision City/County Youth Council and the HEART Coalition, organizations that are promoting drug and alcohol prevention and fighting crime and violence in the Rochester area. He has been a panelist on many of the community youth forums and makes time to come to major events and spend �real time� in �real conversations� with the youth. Despite the many demands on his time, he makes certain to let the youth know that their efforts are important in the fight against crime. Believing that literacy can be the key to helping people find opportunities to avoid crime, he also has partnered with the Boys and Girls Club to support the development of literacy programs for children.

For many years Hillsborough County Public Schools, in Tampa, FL, has recognized the YCWA program within their schools. The county encourages the development of youth-led crime prevention activities and supports training activities. The school board�s Violence Prevention Committee has formed an ad hoc committee to assist and support the efforts of YCWA groups in the schools. The committee plans to visit schools and provide support and service, to offer training, and recruit speakers. Hillsborough County Public Schools is committed to school safety. They feel that Youth Crime Watch of America has offered them the tools to provide an active and exciting student-led program.

The Florida National Guard Counterdrug Initiative�s Drug Demand Reduction Program is a "Key Enabler" in support of drug prevention coalitions, state organizations, and other various agencies in their effort to reduce the abuse and illegal use of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs through a focus is on drug abuse education, prevention, awareness, and leadership training. The Program�s goal is to add value to all youth and communities in the State of Florida by reducing the demand for and use of alcohol, tobacco, and illegal drugs. They have provided training and education to over 9,000 youth leaders throughout the state. Their Night Vision program, a peer-to-peer drug prevention education program that has reached over 92,000 youth, has won four awards from the Secretary of Defense. They also have developed over 125 Drug Prevention Coalition members in an effort to strengthen community collaborations. They save prevention programs in Florida over $300,000 annually by providing audiovisual support. Over their 15-year relationship with Youth Crime Watch, they have provided approximately $375,000 in audiovisual support to this Conference alone. The Demand Reduction Program also has supported two statewide conferences for Youth Crime Watch of Florida and collaborated with YCW in four Governor�s Prevention Conferences. Finally, they have provided YCW with space for retreats at Camp Blanding, allowing YCW to offer low-cost leadership training for young people working to stop crime, drugs and violence. Daily, they set the stage for youth to change the world.

Bingham County Sheriff Dave Johnson believes that all young people attending school should feel safe. He has repeatedly been quoted as saying� We cannot stick our heads in the sand and think this type of thing will not happen in Bingham County.� With this in mind, he has dedicated his time and resources toward training not only law enforcement but also school personnel regarding their roles in the event of a possible school shooting. Officers from Bingham County Sheriffs� Office assisted the Idaho Peace Officers Standard and Training in the development of the first state approved �Immediate Action Rapid Deployment� lesson plan and the Bingham County officers were the first instructors authorized by the state to teach the course. Since 2007, officers from a number of local and county departments, as well as the Idaho State Police, have received at least eight hours of training. In spring 2007, the Snake River High School began to receive training to help staff plan how to minimize risk to students through new policies and some modification of procedures. A second school received the training, including a mock simulation, on February 15, 2008. A few hours after the training was completed, the Bingham County Sheriffs� Office received a call concerning an armed student threatening suicide at Snake River High School. The school went into full emergency lockdown and all students were safely escorted off the campus, followed by faculty and staff, within two hours. Later that evening, the student was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound on the school grounds. Thanks to the training received by the school, no one else was injured. The Bingham County Sheriff�s Office also develops partnerships with young people to solve local problems. The Office has been active in a variety of youth development programs, including organizing coalitions in each school and providing summer prevention programming. Hats off to the Bingham County Sheriff�s Office for being on having the vision to prepare to ensure the safety and security of their young residents!

In 2008, Youth Crime Watch Panama will complete its fifth year of amazing achievements. Jovenes Contra el Delito Panama (JCD) has become the leading youth-led crime prevention program in Panama, thanks to the indefatigable work of its members, teachers, policemen and collaborators. During these five years, JCD consistently has accomplished its three main objectives: to create and support a real youth-directed program; to continuously upgrade its organization in management and evaluation through transparency and efficiency; and to promote YCW as an efficient and effective program. These objectives have allowed JCD to develop a program that is focused on education, leadership, and citizenship values. Recently, YCW Panama organized two radio programs, both of which are produced and directed by students, as well as the Cinema with Values project, which uses the cinema to promote a culture of values. Future steps for JCD/ YCW Panama include the implementation of the Logic model, the development of monitoring tools and assessments for the program in Panama, and the placement of the evaluation report on the web for access by local communities.