By Misty DUPLESSIS

Over the last few months, the Crescenta Valley Drug and Alcohol Prevention Coalition chairman of Youth and Family Committee Nancy Stone has teamed up with local educators to give community members tools on how to help children succeed in life.

Stone has led educational meetings at several Glendale schools with the support of former Crescenta Valley High School principal Linda Evans and CV teachers Jim Smiley and Peter Kim.

The information the group shared comes from research obtained by the Search Institute on the 40 Developmental Assets. For over  50 years, Search Institute, a non-profit charitable corporation headquartered in Minneapolis, has been an innovator in discovering what kids need to succeed in their families, schools, and communities.

The 40 Assets provides children with the resources they need so they will grow up to be healthy adults who make wise choices. Some of the assets include building strong family communications, having children get involved in extracurricular activities like sports or art or joining a positive organization like a youth group.

“Based on research, if students have at least 20 assets, they would be less likely to be involved in drugs and alcohol,” said Stone.

On three consecutive Tuesdays beginning Jan. 15, the group will hold free classes at 7:15 p.m. at the Crescenta-Cañada YMCA Community Room on building the assets that help children thrive.

Attendees can expect to be introduced to the assets concept from a highly trained educator involved in the program and will have access to the list of assets as well as other documents that support the research.

Each of the three classes will provide information on different topics. One class will cover emotions, image and companions, another session will focus on home life and family, and school and special issues will be addressed in another class.

All who interact with children are encouraged to attend every class; however, it is not required to attend all of the seminars in order to gain valuable lessons.

“We have a strong group. There are a variety of things we cover, we are there to answer questions and share ideas,” Evans said, adding that they hope that this education will spread throughout the community.

The Crescenta-Cañada Y is located at 1930 Foothill Blvd. in La Cañada.

  MISTY DUPLESSIS