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 7-07-06 Three SOS Members Attend Red Cross Youth Institute at Emory University

ATLANTA (665 words) – Spending the weekend in Atlanta for some would include dining at the hot spots, and if you were a teen, just hanging out with other teens for fun but four students from the Greater Miami and the Keys Chapter of the American Red Cross recently spent three days in intensive training at the American Red Cross Southeast Service Area 2006 Youth Leadership Training Institute. The Institute was held June 9-11th at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. The weekend was designed for brainstorming, networking, and training in order to better serve the participants’ clubs and communities. After a series of ice-breakers, team building and diversity workshops topped the list of activities designed to connect the participants.

Youth delegates from across the Service Area (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, and Tennessee) met at the Institute. From South Florida, Coral Shores High School Sophomore Xotchil Musser, Miami High School Senior Roger Reyes, Island Christian School Sophomore Noah Sutter, and Coral Shores Freshman Jerry Renfroe attended with Michele Sutter, a Red Cross Instructor and adult leader of the Season of Service (SOS) Team. More than 60 students from five states attended the Institute. Organizers planned two tracts – one for the students and one for the adult leaders. The sessions presented over the three days included: Project Development, Fundraising, “How to Start a Red Cross Club,” Youth Leadership Opportunities, Diversity Training, Red Cross History & Structure, Public Speaking, Time Management & Goal-Setting, Decision-Making & Problem-Solving, Online Communication, Successful Blood Drive Planning, and How to Prepare Your Community through Health & Safety Services.

Two of Sutter’s favorite sessions were Networking – Sharing Best Practices and Youth Disaster Service Opportunities. She met another leader from Mississippi whose youth created a Shelter Recreation Team and went into hurricane shelters after Wilma as clowns to entertain the kids with toys and games. “Can you imagine what a relief they brought to the parents and the joy they brought to those kids?” Sutter reflected. “This Leadership Institute opened our minds to so much opportunity,” she said.

Xotchil Musser, from Key Largo and a rising sophomore at CSHS, was surprised by all she learned about fundraising, “At the Youth Leadership Institute I learned things about fundraising that I could bring back to the club in the Keys. There were some really awesome people there, kids and adults included. I am really glad that I was able to go.” During the three-day event, the participants were also treated to a campus tour and admissions presentation by Emory student ambassadors. Living and eating on campus also gave the students a taste of college campus life.

Noah Sutter and Jerry Renfroe especially appreciated the all-you-can-eat policy at the Emory University cafeteria as well as all the great time for fellowship and fun. “I learned a lot about the Red Cross and had fun doing it,” Noah Sutter added, “look forward to using what I have learned here.”

“The whole experience was a valuable one, and aside from the learning and networking with others, I really enjoyed staying in the dorms, and living on a college campus again,” said Michele Sutter. “The weather was beautiful and so was the campus.”

Renfroe, Noah Sutter, and Musser received scholarships to attend because of their prior involvement and service to community as Red Cross volunteers and members of the Seasons of Service (SOS) Team. The SOS team is a youth club that focuses on youth empowerment, development, and service as a collaborative project of 4-H University of Florida, Monroe Youth Challenge Program and the Red Cross.

Renfroe and Sutter received scholarships from the Greater Miami and the Keys Red Cross chapter while Musser received a scholarship to attend from the Children’s Foundation in Ocean Reef because of her Girl Scout involvement.

Monroe Youth Challenge Program is a project of the Monroe County Education Foundation to foster acceptance, respect, and success in the youth of Monroe County. For more information call MYCP District Prevention Coordinator Michele Sutter at (305) 852-1664 or visit www.keysschools.com.