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| The Community Foundation of Boulder County’s 15 Forever Program: Teens Learn the Value of Giving  The 15 Forever Program at The Community Foundation of Boulder County will begin its second year of giving this fall with the start of the 2008/09 school year. Fifteen Boulder Valley School District students, ages 15-18, will gather every other Saturday to create a process for giving a total of $15,000 to nonprofit organizations in Boulder County. The Community Foundation seeks typical high school students who may be looking for an interesting and new way of getting involved. Many of the 15 students have parents who are involved in their communities and want their kids to be involved as well. Both public and private high schools in Boulder County are represented on the committee. There are two semesters during the school year when the committee meets. During the first semester committee members get to know one another well through a series of activities so that eventually they are comfortable in discussing openly the issues youth face. During the 2007/08 school year, the committee decided to research four topic areas important to youth: sexual health; race, gender and orientation diversity; drug and alcohol abuse; and the residentially challenged community. The committee formulated teams, and each team selected a topic they would like to research. Once that research was completed and presented to everyone, the committee decided to seek concept letters from programs and organizations that address youth education about sexual health; race, gender and orientation; and, drug and alcohol abuse. During the second semester, the committee accepts concept letters from community programs and organizations, meets with each organization, and eventually makes a decision who they will fund and at what level. In 2007/08, the committee funded:  Current 15 Forever Youth Leader Madeline Puterbaugh said, “The experience of being a 15 Forever Youth Leader has given me valuable first hand experience in the world of philanthropy in Boulder County. However, most importantly, my eyes were opened to just how many unique and equally important causes and organizations exist where we live. I can’t help but to feel empowered and passionate by what we are doing to help them.” Of the 15 teens involved in last year’s giving, four will be returning to participate in the 2008/09 committee and they will return as youth leaders. The Community Foundation of Boulder County started this program to help foster youth civic engagement and leadership in their community. They are off to a great start. |
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