Building empathy and kindness amongst youth.
The Midland Area Youth Impact Partnership’s mission is to promote the safety and wellbeing of all Midland County citizens by building empathy and kindness amongst youth, through awareness, education, and collaboration.
Since 1998, roughly 12,000 students are impacted each year by the Youth Impact Partnership.
(Formerly known as the Violence Prevention Partnership)
Youth violence is not a new problem in our society. While most think this is just a “big city” problem, it also has crept its way into the backyards of hometown families. The Youth Impact Partnership realizes the urgency of this epidemic and agrees with the American Medical Association in that “More school suspensions and more prisons are not the answer. The answer, rooted in public health, is prevention.”
The Youth Impact Partnership helps our young people through engaging communities and building awareness of the issues young people could face on a daily basis. Education and awareness are two key partners in prevention.
Intercepting a problem before young people can act upon their negative ideas or intentions is key. It shows young people that violence isn’t the answer to their problems. By offering more positive solutions, it can help steer kids in the right direction before they make a decision that could negatively affect them for the rest of their lives. Since the program was developed in 1998, it has committed to engaging young people in ways that will curb violence and promote unity.
Resources
School Programs
The Youth Impact Partnership of the Midland Area Community Foundation works to eliminate violence and promote kindness among youth in our communities. We interact with city officials, community leaders, youth service organizations, schools, and families to identify areas on which to focus to be most efficient. Through these various relationships, a number of programs have been established and supported to help in the effort to keep youth violence to a minimum. These programs include:
3rd Grade Programs
- Body Safety Part 1
- Facilitator: Midland Child Advocacy Center
- Topics:
- 8 never nevers
- 3 types of touch
- Safe adults
- Assertive voice
- Body Safety Part 2
- Facilitator: Midland Child Advocacy Center
- Topics:
- Review Part 1
- Secrets vs. Surprises
- The three R’s: Recognize, Refuse, Report
4th Grade Programs
- Cyber and School Safety
- Facilitator: School Resource Officers
- Topics:
- How to use the internet safely, what is cyberbullying, or a predator and what to
do if you encounter problems via the internet.
- How to use the internet safely, what is cyberbullying, or a predator and what to
- Personal Safety
- Facilitator: Midland Child Advocacy Center
- Topics:
- Review and reiterate all the topics learned in 4th grade body safety lessons
- Restraint Skills
- Facilitator: The Legacy Center for Community Success
- Topics:
- Students learn and apply peer pressure refusal
strategies. - Students also learn to communicate the decision to refuse the
pressure with confidence to avoid risky behaviors.
- Students learn and apply peer pressure refusal
5th Grade Programs
- Grit and Resilience
- The ROCK Center for Youth Development / Discover You
- Topics:
- The ROCK C4YD and Discover You provide an engaging discussion on Resilience
through a demonstration and a game.
- The ROCK C4YD and Discover You provide an engaging discussion on Resilience
- Healthy Relationships and Boundary-Setting
- Facilitator: Shelterhouse
- Topics:
- Healthy and unhealthy relationships
- What is a “red flag”
- How to set clear, assertive boundaries
- Feeling empowered to stand up for themselves when they are feeling unsafe
or uncomfortable in their relationships
- Kindness, Empathy, and the Power of Words
- Facilitator: Youth Intervention Specialists
- Topics:
- The power of words
- You are not alone
- We all make mistakes
- Kindness is a choice
- Coping strategies
Kindness Conference
Youth Impact Partnership facilitates a few youth programs across Midland County each year, and one of the programs is Kindness Conference.
The Kindness Conference is a day of learning, leadership, and action. Approx. 125 students from different schools come together to become Kindness Ambassadors—leaders who promote kindness, empathy, and inclusion in their schools.
Through hands-on activities, teamwork, and planning sessions, students will:
- Learn how to recognize and respond to unkind behavior
- Build skills to show empathy and understanding to others
- Plan kindness projects and activities to make their schools more welcoming and inclusive
By the end of the day, students will leave with new ideas, new friends, and the tools to make a real difference in their school communities.
Questions about Kindness Conference? Send us a message at info@midlandfdn.org.
2024 Kindness Conference Photos
Kindness Week
This event seeks to engage all school-age children in Midland County as participants in a week-long campaign that addresses the issue of youth violence in its many forms. The week is filled with activities such as student assemblies and special presentations. Each participating school chooses a team of students that decide what events take place and the means by which they are going to build awareness among their peers.
Questions about Kindness Week? Send us a message at info@midlandfdn.org.
2024 Kindness Week Photos
