We have some exciting things happening at Teaming Together 4 Teens which include (hopefully) seeing blog posts more frequently from our new intern, Kaley.  You can also look forward to learning more information about our educators and all of our staff!

The time of our Get R.E.A.L. Teen Clinic has changed.  The new time is the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of each month from 5pm-6:30pm.  Changes in the time or cancellations of the Teen Clinic will be posted on our Facebook page, and also will be announced on KWBG radio.  We encourage you to make an appointment by calling 515-433-2091 ext #5404, but walk in's are also welcome (walk in's do not have a guaranteed appointment).  Our teen clinic offers pregnancy testing, free condoms, birth control options, STD/STI testing, HIV/AIDS testing, and sexual health consultations.

Like our Facebook page "teamingtogether4teens" for updates, announcements, and sexual health articles!

Crop...Craft...Create Raffle Winners

First, I would like to thank all the individuals who made the 3rd annual Crop...Craft...Create a success.  During the month of April, we at Teaming Together 4 Teens (TT4T), held a fundraising raffle that culminated in the Crop...Craft ...Create event.  TT4T coalition members as well as the TT4T educators sold individuals a chance to win a Kindle Fire or an Olympus camera.  The winners of that raffle were:
Kindle Fire:  April Nolte
Olympus Camera:  Jenny Merk
Congratulations and thank you to everyone once again.

Crop...Craft...Create Fundraiser Was a Huge Success

The Teaming Together 4 Teens (TT4T) team dubbed the 3rd Annual Crop...Craft...Create fundraising event a resounding success.   Saturday, April 28, starting at 7am, crafters began carrying in all the tools of their trade and settled in for 16 hours of nothing but food, fun and creative activity.  There were individuals who learned the finer points of crocheting, there were experts in card making and scrapbooking, as well as those who weren't quite experts, there was networking and drawings and raffles and did I mention all the food and drinks you could ever want.
Best of all we raised just under $3000 and had fun doing it.
We cannot thank the attendees, and all the individuals who helped make this event a success, enough.
The money raised will go a long way toward the purchase of educational materials that will enable the TT4T team to continue sexual health education in Boone and Story Co.
Thanks again and we look forward to doing this again soon.  Be watching for our Holiday Crop...Craft...Create coming in November.

Save The Date for the Risky Business Conference

The 25^th annual Risky Business conference will be held on Monday May 1, 2012, at the Scheman Center (at Iowa State University) in Ames.  This one-day conference brings adults and youth together to develop skills and increase knowledge of community youth development and the critical issues confronting youth and professionals who work with youth today.

This year’s adult keynote speaker is Scott McLeod, J.D., Ph.D., an associate Professor of Educational Leadership at the University of Kentucky. He also is the Founding Director of the UCEA Center for the Advanced Study of Technology Leadership in Education (CASTLE), the nation’s only academic center dedicated to the technology needs of school administrators, and was a co-creator of the wildly popular video series, “Did You Know? Shift Happens.” He has received numerous national awards for his technology leadership work, including recognitions from the cable industry, Phi Delta Kappa, and the National School Boards Association. In the Spring 2011 he was a visiting Canterbury Fellow at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand. Dr. McLeod blogs regularly about technology issues at Dangerously Irrelevant and Mind Dump and occasionally at the Huffington Post.

Conference participants will be equipped with strategies to help teens recognize and alter patterns of thinking that are most likely to lead to unnecessarily risky and dangerous behaviors. 

High school youth will start their day with Marco Antonio Torres. Torres has been recognized internationally, including being honored as a California Teacher of the Year, for his accomplishments in the classroom and for the use of technology to empower students. Torres has presented at numerous conferences throughout the world and his practical workshops help teachers push their teaching and learning to new exciting levels. He is a consultant for many U.S. and international schools and has keynoted in almost every state. He sits on the board for the George Lucas Educational Foundation, New Media Consortium and Full Sail University Online Advance Studies.

Crop...Craft...Create

Join us for our  3rd Annual

Crop...Craft...Create

Set aside time for yourself

to enjoy an entire day of creating jewelry,

scrapbooking, quilting or crocheting!

Saturday, April 28, 2012

7a.m.-11p.m.

at the Leonard Good Center

513 W. Walnut St.  Ogden, IA

Three meals, snacks and drinks

will be provided

All this for just

$40

email or call for your reservation/questions today:

sdoran@yss.ames.ia.us

515-433-2091

This event is sponsored by

Boone-Story County Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention, Teaming Together 4 Teens Coalition

All proceeds from this event go to the sexual health education of our area youth

Upcoming Training

It is amazing to me that I have come this far with a blog just by trial and error.
Saying that, I am pleased to share with you that I am going to take advantage of an awesome training opportunity.  The day after Valentines Day, I have registered to take a Social Media Marketing class in order to optimize the presence of Let's Start...the TALK blog.  Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and a few other marketing sites will also be highlighted.
So, wish me luck!

Happy New Year

I cannot believe that December escaped without giving me a chance to at least post something...but, alas, it happened.  I can honestly say that with all the shopping and holiday parties and traveling and closing out 2011, while revving up for 2012, time flew right by, leaving its trail in the dust.
So, here we are!  It's 2012 and the time has come to move forward; educating our small corner of the world on appropriate sexual behavior; questioning if the previous year we made a difference in someone's life or if the curriculum and time we offer to students and adults has become stagnant and predictable.
Statistics indicate that there is a decline in teen pregnancy but is it enough?  What more can we do to insure the decline is consistent with our expectations?  I am not sure we can.  There is one thing I am sure of however!  By looking forward to the new year with fresh eyes and a dedication to formulating new and innovative ideas on reaching out to individuals regarding appropriate sexual health we are assured to make a difference on all levels.