Honor and Respect
Every young person lives in
a unique set of circumstances. Families are not so perfect. Illness and deaths
happen. Money and basic love are often lacking. And some schools do not fit some
children. It can feel like a square-peg-round-hole thing. Of course we know that
children are not cans of food, nor cookie cutter products, that we produce after
twelve years of schooling. Rather, our children are gifted people to whom we owe
honor and respect - even when society, a culture, the family, or our
neighborhoods let them down. We've got to catch the children who are
falling.
The National Guard Youth ChalleNGE (NGYC) is a free program for children
who are at-risk and in danger. From an inept school system to hard-working
families whose homes are adultless more often than not, to drug-induced habits
and love-needy children becoming pregnant, tens of thousands of our youth are in
trouble. There is no one solution. Schools cannot raise our children and 9 out
of 100 families cannot raise their own children very well either.
What can we do?
There are solutions and some of them out of the norm.
Ten years ago, the National Guard established a peace-time community outreach
called Youth ChalleNGe (YC) to meet the needs of almost 10 % of our children:
high school drop-outs. This program is out of the box successful! Read the book
and you'll see why...
NOTE: A donation from every book is made to the
National Guard Youth Foundation to build more Youth Challenge schools in
all 50 states. Right now there are schools in only 27 states and Puerto Rico, so
there is a lot needed. YOU CAN HELP by gifting a copy to yourself, a family
friend in need, and another copy to your school
counselors.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Linda Lee Ratto, EdM, will come to your school or organization's events
to share the Youth Challenge program and sign
books.
