Mission Statement

"The International Training Team is a group of dedicated young adults committed to empowering youth to positively influence their peers by leading a safe and drug-free lifestyle"

Welcome

"Hey 'Yo PRIDE Teams... It's Time To Represent!" As the 2008-2009 PRIDE year begins, we hope your team is looking to "Dream Big" with all of us here on the Training Team.

Within the year ahead, we as a team hope to reinforce our connection with you, the youth. For this reason, we have developed a resource to spark communication, strengthen accountability, circulate information, and build bridges between all teams. We hope you'll join us!

How To

All information submitted needs to be cleared by the trainers. Anything you want posted, must be sent to trainers@prideyouthprograms.org and we’ll post it for you. Please include a first name and your team name in your submission emails.
• We welcome pictures, videos, PowerPoint presentations, articles, websites, etc that detail:
- Drug Education
- Social Activities
- Community Outreach
- Public Service Announcements
- Team Achievements
Videos
• To submit a video, email it as an attachment or post the video on YouTube and send us the link.
• DO NOT send videos of entire performances. If you want to submit a skit, send a clip of just the skit, not the entire performance.
PowerPoints
• Whole PowerPoint presentations will not be posted on the blog. Please submit a short summary of the content of the presentation and email us the full PowerPoint. The information will be available to other readers upon request.
Websites
• When submitting websites, please summarize the content of the article (video, etc) and send a SPECIFIC link. For example, if you’re submitting a newspaper article, send us a link of the specific article, not just the general newspaper website.
Contact Information
• If you see a post that interests you and want to know more or if you want to contact another team in your area, contact information of teams and advisors is available upon request.
Things to Keep in Mind
• It is our goal to keep the blog new and exciting all year long. Therefore, since most teams become less active in the summer months, we plan on spacing out post-time for submissions throughout the year, that way we all can have something new to read all year long. Don’t be discouraged if your submission doesn’t show up immediately; it will make it up eventually!
• Don’t forget, all previous posts are saved and can be found in the archive section of the blog.

Friday, April 10, 2009

A Focus On Our Team of the Month: "Roll PRIDE!"

Meet PRIDE of Tuscaloosa from Tuscaloosa, Alabama! Originally founded in 1984, this southern PRIDE team has overcome much adversity and has been given a breath of fresh life under the new, motivated leadership of Lois Palecek and Sena Stewart.


PRIDE of Tuscaloosa now includes members from four area high schools: Hillcrest High School, Tuscaloosa County High School, Northside High School, and Holt High School.
The new members of the PRIDE of Tuscaloosa team gathered for the first time on October 12th, 2008. PRIDE International Senior Lead Trainers Danielle Stringer, Sarah Green, and Cory Herman attended to help lay the groundwork for the new team. The three International Trainers detailed the history of PRIDE Youth Programs and discussed, in-depth, a Safe & Drug-Free message. Also, the Trainers facilitated workshops to strengthen teamwork, improve communication, accept diversity, and promote leadership. Jay DeWispelaere, President and CEO of PRIDE Youth Programs, also attended the Training in Tuscaloosa.

PRIDE of Tuscaloosa moved from their previous location to a new office in October, 2008. A community open house was held to coincide with Jay's visit for the national training. Local celebrity, Miss Tuscaloosa, was also in attendance for the Open House. Impressed by the work of PRIDE Youth Programs on both the local and international level, Miss Tuscaloosa changed her platform to Safe and Drug-Free Lifestyles. Today, she is currently speaking at schools on behalf of PRIDE Tuscaloosa.

PRIDE of Tuscaloosa also works effectively within all four pillars of the PRIDE organization: Community Outreach, Community Service, Drug Education, and Positive Social Activities. Some of their accomplishments thus far include a sponsored event by the name "Tuscaloosa United." This Red Ribbon Week event took place at a bridge, in town, that connects the city to the county. The event symbolized a community usited against drugs and alcohol by having team members walk from both ends of the bridge and meeting in the center. To celebrate the winter holiday season, Tuscaloosa PRIDE teams participated in the West Alabama Christmas Parade. The parade was themed "City Sidewalks." PRIDE of Tuscaloosa chose "Safe Sidewalks" as their theme, and decorated the float with trees, lamplights, snow and snowflakes along with signs promoting safe choice messages. While team members from Northside High School have been active in their school promoting a safe and drug-free message by presenting skits at Northside Elementary, team members from Holt High School made showcase displays to educate youth. Students also make announcements and present skits to their peers.

PRIDE of Tuscaloosa is energized and shows no signs of slowing down progress anytime soon. When asked what sets PRIDE of Tuscaloosa apart from other PRIDE teams, the response was simply, “Roll PRIDE!”

Posted by International Training Team at 10:19 PM