Castle Country’s Promise launches promise station

By Sun Advocate

Online technology to mobilize community around youth
Castle Country’s Promise recently announced and previewed its promise station, an Internet-based product that will revolutionize the way communities unite around youth in Carbon and Emery counties.
With a multi-year investment from Ford Motor Company and technology developed by PricewaterhouseCoopers, promise station’s will enable people in communities across the country to help youth where they live, work and worship using their own skills, talents and interests.
The promise station empowers parents, schools, faith groups, youth organizations, businesses, local government or any caring citizen to identify and connect children and young people with the critical resources they need to become successful adults. Castle Country’s Promise, a local affiliate of America’s Promise, The Alliance for Youth, is among eighty communities in the nation who have launched the promise station.
The site can be accessed at www.castlecountryspromise.org.
Studies show that adults say preparing young people for the future should be the nation’s top priority, but too few are acting on that belief.
Americans also believe the five promises of America’s promise: caring adults, safe places, a healthy start, marketable skills and opportunities to serve, are the right solution for building the character and competence of youth.
But research also shows that resources are hard to find. Promise stations will harness the power of the Internet to bridge that gap and give everyone in a community access to the information and resources to help young people succeed.
“A promise station will become a community’s mission control; the mission is to fully prepare kids for the journey from childhood to adulthood,” stated Peter A. Gallagher, president and CEO of America’s Promise. “It will enable people to enlist in this national movement right in their own backyards.”
A survey by Wirthlin Worldwide, an independent research firm, showed that 80 percent of parents and people who work with children would use a promise station if it was available to them.
“We’ve committed our company to a path of leadership in global citizenship. Partnering with America’s Promise to create and support promise stations is a legacy project,” stated John M. Rintamaki, group vice president and chief of staff, Ford Motor Company.
“This partnership will empower and mobilize communities. It is important for the youth today and future leaders of tomorrow that we continue being an accelerator for further achievement and excellence.”
America’s Promise was founded after the Presidents’ Summit for America’s Future in 1997 where Presidents G.H.W. Bush, Carter, Clinton and Ford, with Nancy Reagan representing President Reagan, challenged the country to make children and youth a national priority. General Colin L. Powell is founding chairman.
The mission of America’s Promise is to mobilize people from every sector of American life to build the character and competence of our nation’s youth by fulfilling the five promises.
For more information about America’s Promise, visit www.americaspromise.org.