Press Releases:

8/08 Adult Volunteers Needed for Sept. Challenge Days
KEY WEST (364 words) – For the past eight years campus atmosphere and student-to-student respect has been improved in Monroe County through Challenge Day, which is sponsored by Monroe Youth Challenge Program. “Adult volunteers working in tandem with peer facilitators in small groups are what make the day safe, powerful, and so amazing,” said MYCP Director Sunny Booker. Adult volunteers are asked to register as soon as possible... Read More >>>

5/08 Marathon High School Performing Arts Center Opens
First Show ‘Famous’ Thursday, June 5
MARATHON, FL (292 words) – Voluntarily coordinated by Monroe Youth Challenge Program Director Sunny Booker, ‘Famous’ opens Thursday, June 5 at the Marathon High School in the newly constructed auditorium at 7 p.m. This is the inaugural performance in the facility... Read More >>>

5/08 Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen Makes
Appearance at MYCP Annual Awards Celebration
MARATHON, FL (233 words) – Monroe Youth Challenge Program garnered attention from local leaders such as County Commissioner George Neugent, school board members Debra Walker, Andy Griffiths and John Dick at their third annual Awards Celebration. ... Read More >>>

5/08 MYCP’s 8TP Reduces School Violence
KEY WEST (250 words) – The 8TP or eighth-grade transition programs that took place last week at all three Monroe County public high schools were designed by students for students through the sponsorship and leadership of Monroe Youth Challenge Program to reduce school violence. ... Read More >>>

5/08 MYCP Promotes Responsibility to Keys Elementary Students
KEY WEST (217 words) – Through an innovative, large three-screen multimedia presentation elementary school students and teachers throughout Monroe County heard “Count on Me” April 28 – May 2. The content of each “Count on Me” show is produced to reach students with a positive, powerful message about responsibility... Read More >>>

4/08 Student Awareness Day Changes Attitudes about Hatred, Bullying, Violence
 In almost a mantra “it didn’t start with the gas chambers” is what leaders and Holocaust survivors repeated at the Student Awareness Day held April 11 in Miami. More than 100 high school students from Monroe County public and private schools attended the one-day event mid April hosted by the Holocaust Documentation and Education Center in partnership with Miami-Dade County Public Schools... Read More >>>

4/08 MYCP Hosts Annual Awards Celebration May 9
With a record year of statewide recognition and service learning projects, Monroe Youth Challenge Program prepares to host it’s annual awards celebration for students, parents and dignitaries...... Read More >>>

3/08 Service Learning Success Continues Second Semester
By starting a free weekly playgroup, a handful of Hispanic students hope to help future Hispanic students change statistics that show what rank children are most likely to be in by the time they reach high school. It's called the achievement gap to educators.... Read More >>>

2/08 York Awarded for Random Acts of Kindness that Touched Entire Middle School
A dozen students at Marathon Middle School mobilized an entire body of 150-plus students to be the change they want to see in the world, as Ghandi has said. Teacher Linnea York’s language arts class started a random acts of kindness campaign with funding from a Monroe County School District serving learning grant to address teasing and bullying..... Read More >>>

2/08 Governor Crist Honors Booker as Point of Light at Mansion Event
Governor Charlie Crist presented one of four Point of Light awards to Sunny Booker of Marathon at the governor’s mansion in Tallahassee Wednesday, Feb. 27 in front of a group of more than 200 community leaders, educators and students at the Governor’s Mansion to mark the conclusion of Black History Month.... Read More >>>

2/08 MYCP Leaders Sutter, Cooke Recognized as ‘Unsung Heroes’ by Red Cross
Monroe Youth Challenge Program District Prevention Coordinator Michele Sutter was recognized in Key West Feb. 1 at the Unsung Heroes luncheon sponsored by the Community Foundation of the Florida Keys..... Read More >>>

1/08 MYCP Implores Parents Attend Feb. 11, 13 Town Hall Meetings
County-wide officials are looking for the solution to deal with the increase in youth drinking and house parties. Keys parents are concerned and outraged about passé attitudes toward house parties that brew risky and often life-threatening behaviors..... Read More >>>

1/08: Monroe Youth Challenge Program's Katie Greenman Could Win National Speech Competition and $40,000 on New York Radio Tonight With Your Vote
NEW YORK -- Katie Greenman, a senior at Marathon High School, has been selected from thousands of entrants as a finalist in the 2nd National 'Words That Shook the World' High School Public Speaking Competition. She is set to compete on national radio in the finals Martin Luther King Holiday, Monday Jan. 21 from 8 to 10 p.m. ..... Read More >>>

12/07: Stockings for Troops 2007 Conclusion
As part of a Monroe Youth Challenge Program to build leadership skills in youth, Rob and Penny Cassidy directed the San Pedro youth group's effort which raised $1,500 for Stockings for Troops. That is enough for 150 U.S. soldiers serving overseas to each get a stocking. MYCP District Prevention Coordinator (far right) coordinated the service project with the American Red Cross..... Read More >>>

12/07: State Farm, Good Neighbor to Elementary Students at Treasure Village Montessori School
ISLAMORADA, FL (185words) - Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. Not just for insurance but for teaching the youth of Monroe County. Thanks to an $8,500 grant from State Farm, students at Treasure Village Montessori School plan to be good neighbors this year too. Using new GPS Navigators, fifth- and sixth-grade students are to create a mitigation plan and plant a section of Plantation Hammock Preserve on the north side of Founder’s Park at mile marker 87, bayside.... Read More >>>

12/07: Playgroup Addresses Achievement Gap for Hispanic Children through MCSD Service Learning Grant
KEY LARGO, Fla. (193 words) – Babies who learn sign language have an IQ of 12 points higher and higher average SAT scores than babies who don’t use sign language. In order to equalize the platform for future classes to compete academically in school and on tests, students in Cheryl Cooke’s class started Grupo de Juego, a weekly playgroup in Key Largo.... Read More >>>

12/07: MYCP Implores Parents Attend Dec. 10 Town Hall Meeting at Coral Shores
ISLAMORADA, Fla. (152 words) – County-wide and Upper Keys officials are looking for the solution to deal with the increase in youth drinking and house parties. Upper Keys parents are concerned and outraged about passé attitudes toward house parties that brew risky and often life-threatening behaviors... Read More >>>

11/07: Dec. 7, Last Day to Send Stockings to Troops
TAVERNIER, Fla. (143 words) – December 7 is the day many remember veterans killed or injured at Pearl Harbor in 1941. This year it’s also the last day to remember U.S. veterans now serving overseas with “Stockings for the Troops.”... Read More >>>

10/07: Drug Free During MYCP Sponsored Red Ribbon Week
KEY WEST (193 words) – For the fifth year in a row, Monroe Youth Challenge Program hosted a slate of promotional and educational events on every Monroe County public school Oct. 23-31. Students made campaign decorations for their schools and signed pledges to be drug free. At Gerald Adams Elementary in Key West all the teachers and staff wore red. They honored students who wore the most red... Read More >>>

Smoking Prevention ‘Truth’ Truck Rallies Youth County-wide
KEY WEST – Armed with the facts, almost 3,000 students county-wide took a stand against big tobacco companies. This week the truth truck engaged Monroe County middle and high school students as well as fourth- and fifth-grade students from Sugarloaf and Stanley Switlik Schools in the truth about tobacco... Read More >>>

Leadership Students Clean Up Cigarette Butts to Benefit MYCP
KEY WEST – Mindy Vinson, who instructs the Key West High School Be the Change Leadership Class, recently received an $833.33 check for help with the Sept. 15 cigarette butt clean up in Key West. Monroe Youth Challenge Program sponsors the leadership class and pays Vinson as the MYCP Lower Keys Prevention Coordinator. She recruited more than 20 students to hike along U.S. 1 on a steamy Saturday to remove cigarette butts. In all, the days’ work totaled more than 13,000 cigarette butts.... Read More >>>

Monroe Youth Challenge Program wins State Award for Drug, Violence Prevention Second Year in a Row
KEY WEST – The office of the governor announced Monroe Youth Challenge Program District Prevention Coordinator Michele Sutter as a Who’s Who of Prevention Award recipient at the 2007 Prevention Conference in Orlando Tuesday, Oct. 3. This is the second year in a row Monroe Youth Challenge Program, and those responsible for its effective strategies, were recognized. Monroe County Superintendent Randy Acevedo was a 2006 recipient... Read More >>>

9th Annual Challenge Day Such a Success Students Scream for Entry
KEY WEST (224 words) – While MYCP volunteers sat breathless at the Human Services Advisory Board meeting in Marathon Thursday, Sept. 20 to find out if funding would be provided for its programs, dozens of students pounded doors and screamed for entry to Challenge Day in Key West.... Read More >>>

MYCP Partners with Florida National Guard to Teach Leadership
to Monroe County Students
With walkie talkies, ropes, balls, and clip boards two Florida National Guard Staff Sergeants toured the Florida Keys last week in a partnership with Monroe Youth Challenge Program to teach leadership and communication to youth in Monroe County.... Read More >>>

Students Make Their Mark at First-Ever Leadership Retreat on Pigeon Key
KEY WEST (296 words) – Labor Day weekend changed the lives of a select group of students who attended Monroe Youth Challenge Program’s first-ever leadership retreat on Pigeon Key. The two-night camping style ‘Make Your Mark’ retreat was held for 62 students from middle and high schools across the county to improve the Developmental Assets® needed for success in their lives.... Read More >>>

Red Cross Recognizes Plantation Key School Students as ‘Advocates of Month’
ISLAMORADA, Fla. (763 words) – Plantation Key Middle School (PKS) students were honored by the American Red Cross Measles Initiative as “Advocates of the Month” for June with a full article on their web site and in their international newsletters. The seventh and eighth-grade students wrote and illustrated an original, full-color children’s book entitled “Have No Fear Walk with Me.” Proceeds from the sale of the book and other campaign efforts raised $1,500 – enough to save 1,500 lives. ... Read More >>>

MYCP’s Puppets of Prevention Fire Safety Performance Available to Public
ISLAMORADA, Fla. (288 words) – Who would have thought a popular song
recorded by Elvis Presley, The Beatles, Johnny Horton, Fats Domino, and Huey
Lewis and the News would inspire a puppet team to teach fire safety? That’s
just what happened last week when the Monroe Youth Challenge Program’s (MYCP)
Puppets of Prevention (POP) did a parody of “Shake, Rattle, and Roll” to
teach “Stop, Drop, and Roll.”... Read More >>>

CSHS Teen Helps Needy with 100 Loads of Laundry, Trip to Homestead
ISLAMORADA, Fla. (348 words) – “Turning left on Lucy Street” sounds like a movie title but for one Coral Shores Student it opened her heart to work hard and share. As president of the International Club at Coral Shores Senior Saida Albanes collected 27 huge trash bags of donated clothes at school for a project that went awry. The clothes were rain damaged and their original plan to send them to Nicaragua fell through... Read More >>>

Plantation Key School Students Save Lives Around the World with Measles Book, Sell 50 at Book Signing May 14
ISLAMORADA, Fla. (206 words) – PKS students created an original, full-color children’s book called “Have No Fear, Walk with Me.” They held a book signing event Monday, May 14 at PKS. All proceeds of the book sales benefit the Red Cross Measles Initiative. In a first-time event  they sold 50 books... Read More >>>

Plantation Key School Students Save Lives Around the World with Measles Book, Host Book Signing Monday, May 14
ISLAMORADA, Fla. (171 words) – What can a dollar really do any more? In the U. S. it can’t even buy a cup of coffee. But around the globe $1 can save a life through the Red Cross Measles Initiative by providing a measles vaccine. When students in the character education and art class at Plantation Key Middle School (PKS) heard about this life-saving possibility they wanted to be the change. .... Read More >>>

MYCP Honors Dignitaries, Teachers, Students, Community Partners at 2nd Annual Awards Celebration
MARATHON, FL (934 words) – In a one-hour awards ceremony more than a half-dozen county-wide political leaders, as well as more than 150 community partners, administrators, teachers, parents and students were recognized and honored for being the change they want to see in the world at the 2nd Annual Monroe Youth Challenge Program Awards Celebration.... Read More >>>

Key West High Big Brothers, Big Sisters Escort Littles on End-of-Year Field Trip
KEY WEST (465 words) – Boondocks on Rockland Key was the fun location that a group of 73 teenagers and elementary students spent time building relationships over lunch and mini golf. The teams have been paired together for months now in partnership between Monroe Youth Challenge Program (MYCP) and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Monroe County.... Read More >>>

MYCP Hosts Annual Awards Celebration May 10
MARATHON, FL (301 words) – With the school year coming to a close it’s time to celebrate student honors. Monroe Youth Challenge Program, a grass-roots non profit organization that runs programs on every school campus in the county, plans to host its annual awards celebration to recognize community partners and outstanding student participants Thursday, May 10.... Read More >>>

SOS Team Plants Hope for Future
ISLAMORADA, Fla. (601 words) – Crab Wood, Jamaica Caper, and Sea Oxide Daisy are plants most kids will never hear about but the Seasons of Service (SOS) Team at Montessori Island Charter School in Islamorada knows a lot about them – hands on. Phyllis Mitchell, a master gardener, helped the team plan what native plants to plant at the Plantation Hammock Preserve (PHP) on Plantation Key adjacent to Founder’s Park on the north side.... Read More >>>

MYCP Helps Incoming Freshman Transition to High School with 8TP
KEY WEST (478 words) – Hugs. Running. Grins. Talking. Slide Shows. Learning. They’re all part of the new 8TPs taking place this week at all three Monroe County public high schools. These eighth-grade transition programs (8TP) were designed by students for students through the sponsorship and leadership of Monroe Youth Challenge Program (MYCP). Coral Shores 8TP is set for Tuesday, April 24, Marathon’s transition program for the incoming middle class is called 6TP and is set for Wednesday, April 25. Key West 8TP is set for Friday, April 27... Read More >>>

MYCP Invites Public to Student-Created Holocaust Drama April 22
ISLAMORADA, Fla. (617 words) – With live drama, photographs, and cultural music, an original, student-created production sets the stage unlike any other presentation seen about the Holocaust. In monologue memoir recitations, eerie lighting, frantic sounds, and alarming action, Coral Shores High School drama students bring “Can You Hear Them Crying” with stories of the Holocaust to a heart-wrenching reality. They have performed it to silent peer audiences and now offer it for a first-ever public viewing Sunday, April 22 in the Coral Shores Performing Arts Center at 6 p.m. A $5 donation is requested at the door. ... Read More >>>

Plantation Key School Students Save Lives Around the World with Measles Initiative
ISLAMORADA, Fla. (674 words) – What can a dollar really do any more? In the U. S. it can’t even buy a cup of coffee. But around the globe $1 can save a life through the Red Cross Measles Initiative by providing a measles vaccine. When students in the character education and art class at Plantation Key Middle School (PKS) heard about this life-saving possibility they wanted to be the change. ... Read More >>>

Freedom Calls Keys Students
KEY WEST (378 words) – Through an innovative, large three-screen multimedia presentation high school and middle school students and teachers in Monroe County are set to hear freedom call April 17-20. Each “Freedom Calls” show is produced to reach students with a positive, powerful message of good character, positive self-esteem, and wise decision-making. “By incorporating select major motion movie clips, top-of-the-chart music, and positive scripts, each student is challenged and motivated to develop a healthy self-esteem by making right choices,” said Monroe Youth Challenge Program Director Sunny Booker... Read More >>>

MYCP Receives $2500 State Farm Grant to Attend 18th Service Learning Conference
MARATHON (417 words) – While most teens booking a trip to New Mexico this week have Spring break on their brain, Katie Greenman who is a junior at Marathon High School has one thing on her mind, “How can I better use service learning to benefit my community?” Greenman was selected as the Monroe County student leader to attend the 18th Annual National Service-Learning Conference held in Albuquerque New Mexico, March 28-31. Thanks to a $2,500 State Farm grant awarded to Monroe Youth Challenge Program (MYCP) ... Read More >>>

Successful Challenge Day Reunion Hosts 60 youth, 20 adults in Marathon
MARATHON (483 words) – Challenge Day Founder Yvonne St. John- Dutra said on Oprah’s “High School Challenge” show in November, “the problem isn’t a lack of people in school, it’s a lack of connection between them.” Monroe Youth Challenge Program, who plans to host 26 Challenge Days this year in Monroe County, made connecting possible. ... Read More >>>

SOS Teens Present International Humanitarian Law at 4-H Statewide Congress
GAINESVILLE (412 words) – Two Seasons of Service teens recently traveled to the University of Florida not to be students but to teach. Alex Halpner, a sophomore at Coral Shores High School, and Noah Sutter, a homeschooled sophomore in Tavernier, were requested to be guest lecturers at the 4-H Statewide Conference held in late July because of their proficiency in presenting American Red Cross International Humanitarian Law (IHL) material to peers and adults. ... Read More >>>

Four Teen SOS Team Members Serve on Local, District Boards
MIAMI (790 words) – Keys high school students hold three out of eight leadership positions available for the Greater Miami and Keys Chapter of the American Red Cross. Another college student serves on the American Red Cross Advisory Board in the Upper Keys. All four are members of the inaugural 4-H Seasons of Service (SOS) Team formed last year in a collaborative effort between Monroe Youth Challenge Program, 4-H University of Florida Extension Services, and the American Red Cross.... Read More >>>

"The Fantasticks" Raises Roof
MARATHON, Fla. – A few fantastic students from Marathon High School plan to help raise funds for a new roof on the Marathon Community Theater by presenting the off Broadway hit The Fantasticks this week. Sponsored by the Monroe Youth Challenge Program (MYCP) the students chose to do this show as a community service project for school and designate the funds raised to be used to repair the theater roof which was damaged during Hurricane Wilma last year.... Read More >>>

Student-Created Holocaust Displays Move from KJCC to Key Largo Library
TAVERNIER, Fla. – Two Coral Shores High School students did such an outstanding job on their recent leadership project about International Humanitarian Law (IHL), Genocide, and the Holocaust, that leaders of the Keys Jewish Community Center (KJCC) in Tavernier asked to keep their displays on show for an extra week.... Read More >>>

CSHS Construction and Leadership Classes Build Gazebo for Village of Islands, Community Luncheon
TAVERNIER, Fla. – Is there a way to capture the interest of a construction worker and a gardener together and utilize both skill sets to serve a community? That’s what a group of students in the Coral Shores High School Construction and Leadership Classes recently learned while earning their class credits this semester. Thanks to two Florida Learn & Serve grants totaling a value near $6,000, and the tireless efforts of the Monroe County School District Learn and Serve Grant Coordinator Sunny Booker, the Islamorada Village of Islands Plantation Tropical Preserve and Children’s Memorial Tree Garden has been given a center-piece Gazebo, new native butterfly-attracting plants, and photo album commemorating each memorial tree... Read More >>>

Coral Shores Sophomore Dixon Hosts Successful Black History Luncheon
TAVERNIER, Fla. – Less than a month ago one inspired sophomore at Coral Shores enlightened her peers by hosting a Black History luncheon for all the high school history students. Monica Dixon, wanted Black History to come alive for her peers so they would “…see that there is more to black history than Martin Luther King Jr’s work,” she said. As a project for Leadership Class, Dixon organized a luncheon February 22 with Guest Speaker Sunny Booker and an ethnic lunch sponsored by First State Bank. ... Read More >>>

Key West SWAT Team Prepares to Take on Big Tobacco
KEY WEST (841 words) - Engaged, enraged, and prepared, the newly formed Students Working Against Tobacco (SWAT) Team at Key West High School prepares to take on Big Tobacco with a small group of passionate teenagers. The SWAT advisor, Chris Tittel is provided by The Florida Department of Health. SWAT’s core message is to expose the true motives behind the tobacco industry’s newest attempt to gain public trust through their corporate image campaigns. ... Read More >>>

MYCP Hosts First-Ever Conscious Parenting Seminar
MARATHON (383 words) – Most parents know parenting is a challenge and some would like to increase their ability to meet the challenge. In March Monroe Youth Challenge Program partnered with the Monroe County School District to develop a pilot program which provided a workshop to assist parents in a first-ever Conscious Parenting Seminar for mothers and daughters in the Middle Keys. ... Read More >>>

Holocaust Teachings Prepare Students for Youth Violence Prevention Week Mar 19-23
TAVERNIER, Fla. (544 words) – Terrors from the Holocaust have taught the world many lessons. This week, it’s what pulls Monroe County Youth together to study and discuss how to prevent violence on global, national, and local levels. With live drama, photographs, cultural music, Holocaust memoir reading assignments and one-on-one meetings with Holocaust survivors, Coral Shores High School students are set to experience National Youth Violence Prevention Week like never before... Read More >>>

Big Brothers, Big Sisters Shamrock Sales Support ‘Littles’ at Glynn Archer
KEY WEST (286 words) – A little luck is what Key West High School students who are mentors with Big Brothers, Big Sisters hope for Friday, March 16 when they distribute shamrock candy grams to their peers. For the last several months, the ‘Bigs,’ as the Big Brothers and Big Sisters are referred to as, have been mentoring their ‘littles’ – assigned little brothers and sisters. All proceeds from the $1 shamrock candy grams support their end-of-year celebration to honor the littles.  ... Read More >>>

Feb. 16 Challenge Day Reunion Seeks Adult Volunteers
KEY WEST (360 words) – Challenge Day Founder Yvonne St. John- Dutra said on Oprah’s “High School Challenge” show in November, “the problem isn’t a lack of people in school, it’s a lack of connection between them.” Monroe Youth Challenge Program, who hosts Challenge Days in Monroe County, has an open invitation for volunteer adults to help students connect. Do you have four hours ... Read More >>>

Challenge Day Leaders Award Acevedo ‘Hero of the Month’, Invite Superintendent and Son to Next Step
KEY WEST (539 words) – Superintendent Randy Acevedo was recently honored by Challenge Day Founders, Rich and Yvonne St. John-Dutra, for his efforts to keep Monroe County schools safe. They chose him for the Challenge Day’s Hero-of-the-Month Award and invited him to attend a Next Step retreat. In her November 9th show, Oprah Winfrey proclaimed Challenge Day “is the way we change the world.” ... Read More >>>

MYCP Supports No Name-Calling Week in all Monroe County Middle Schools
KEY WEST (871 words) - This week, MYCP has organized activities and made curriculum available to teachers of middle school aged students who want to participate in the “No Name-Calling Week” campaign January 22 – 26. “We, the Safe School Coordinator Sunny Booker, and I, have read the position statement and we take bullying seriously. Kids succeed when they feel connected. Our team wants to do whatever it takes to help them succeed,” said Acevedo... Read More >>>

Puppets of Prevention Perform at KLS
UPPER KEYS, FL (434 words) – If you have a message and you want to know it’s heard, this team of six volunteers knows how to get it out to elementary students – using puppets. Started as a joint project with Project H.O.P.E. after hurricanes Katrina and Wilma last year, a group of home-educated students formed “Puppets of Prevention” using an original script by Pat Parrish of Layton. Sponsored by Monroe Youth Challenge Program (MYCP), the team has made four hurricane safety and preparedness presentations to elementary classes in the Upper Keys and plans to perform for Key Largo School Thursday, January 18... Read More >>>

MYCP Wins $6,100 State Farm Grant
ISLAMORADA, FL (821 words) – Thanks to donated funds from Monroe County Education Foundation ( (MCEF), Monroe Youth Challenge Program (MYCP) applied for and was awarded a $6,100 State Farm grant for Monroe County School Distirct officials announced this week. The State Farm grant is set for a hurricane mitigation project at the Plantation Hammock Preserve north of Founder’s Park with all planning and native-tree planting to be done by 50 students at Montessori Island Charter School... Read More >>>

CSHS Leadership Students Restore Plantation Hammock Preserve
TAVERNIER, FL (785 words) – With a six-point plan, a handful of Coral Shores High School students took their book knowledge out into the real world – and according to their real-world advisors, it was no walk in the park. Monroe Youth Challenge Program District Prevention Coordinator Michele Sutter worked with Coral Shores Leadership Class Teacher Lauren Pestikas and a group of her students in cooperation with the Islamorada, Village of Islands Park and Recreation Department, the Public Works Department, the Village Landscape Committee and other volunteers for these students to complete their first learn and serve... Read More >>>

Coral Shores Displays Diversity Quilt
TAVERNIER, FL (548 words) – Flags and banners have been known to separate nations and cultures but today a variety of ethnicities are represented in one piece to show unity at Coral Shores. A diversity quilt, created from squares drawn by students of many cultures and sewn together by volunteers, now hangs in the Coral Shores High School media center... Read More >>>

MYCP District Prevention Coordinator Sutter Certifies 100 in International Humanitarian Law
UPPER KEYS (468 words) – According to the American Red Cross (ARC), International Humanitarian Law is everyone’s concern. “In a world where warfare and civil strife are a daily reality for millions, International Humanitarian Law provides a framework for protection for civilians and combatants alike,” say ARC officials. That’s what 97 students and three teachers from the Upper Keys recently learned in a six-hour introductory session to International Humanitarian Law (IHL) earning them an IHL certification from the American Red Cross... Read More >>>

MYCP Announces Pais as First ‘Partner of Change’ Award Recipient
KEY LARGO (441 words) -- Always asking for more got this rising leader recognized and even selected for an award. Key Largo Assistant Principal Darren Pais often asks for more presentations offered by Monroe Youth Challenge Program because Pais states, “MYCP always sends great programs. I wanted Primary Focus four or five times but could only get two groups scheduled.” That leadership is what MYCP recognizes as a Partner of Change. Pais was announced as the first-ever recipient of the MCYP Partner of Change Award last week.... Read More >>>

State Farm Grant Sends 5 Monroe County Youth to Service Learning Conference in Orlando
UPPER KEYS, Fla. (692 words) – Five Monroe County students attended a three-day conference on service learning where they were taught these character elements of leadership; patience, courage, strength, integrity, inclusion, passion, and diversity. And they loved it! Eric Pettit, a sophomore at Marathon High School said, “The conference was three wonderful days of inspiration and kids that are motivated to learn and serve. We want to use this experience to create our own retreat and inspire kids here!” ....Read More >>>

MYCP Recruits 20 Big Brothers, Big Sisters
KEY WEST (432 words) -- High school students often work with mentors to increase their potential for success but this group of 20 students are the mentors to a few deserving youngsters at Glenn Archer Elementary in Key West. In a partnership between Monroe Youth Challenge Program and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Monroe County, MYCP Lower Keys Prevention Coordinator Mindy Vinson recruited 20 mentors also known as “Bigs” from Key West High School students ....Read More >>>

4-H Seasons of Service Team Climbs New Heights at Island Jubilee
TAVERNIER, Fla. (242 words) – Marathon High School 4-H Seasons of Service (SOS) Team member Eric Petit, a sophomore from Marathon High School, raised awareness and dollars for his favorite charity at the recent Island Jubilee in Tavernier. “His heart matched by his effort won him cheers and the satisfaction of saving lives by climbing to the top of the rock wall at the event,”  ....Read More >>>

4-H Seasons of Service Team Holds 2nd Annual Retreat
ISLAMORADA, Fla. (689 words) – For the second year in a row The 4-H Seasons of Service (SOS) Team, youth bent on “Being the Change” in their schools and communities, descended on the Boy Scout High Adventure Sea Base in Islamorada for a weekend of team building, leadership training and fun....Read More

MYCP Seeks Members
KEY WEST (443 words) -- Monroe Youth Challenge Program hopes to be a state role model for other similar grass-roots organizations to be the change in their communities. Life-changing Challenge Days, recently featured on Oprah, have been offered in Monroe County for the last seven years by funding from Monroe Youth Challenge Program (MYCP). All funds are raised through grants and personal donations.....Read More >>>

MYCP Challenge Days Appear on Oprah
KEY WEST (497 words) -- Monroe County, Florida and Monroe, Michigan have more in common than just their names. The programs they host to boost student success at the high school level, called Challenge Day, is set to appear on the Oprah Winfrey Show this week. The show features Challenge Day Founders Rich Dutra St. John and Yvonne St. John Dutra.....Read More >>>

MYCP Sponsors Red Ribbon Week School Events Oct. 23-27
KEY WEST (680 words) -- If parents score a four out of four yeses on the parent skills quiz from National Family Partnership they’re terrific! National Family Partnership (NFP) offers several parent skills quizzes on its site in support of National Red Ribbon Week and child education to be drug free. The NFP established National Red Ribbon Week in response to a 1985 killing when drug traffickers in Mexico City murdered DEA agent Kiki Camarena. This began the tradition and display of red ribbons as a symbol of intolerance towards the use of drugs....Read More >>>

Quad-Amputee Davison Speaks Truth About Choices to Monroe County Youth
KEY WEST (1,003 words) -- Daniel R. Davison is a quad-amputee who reaches and moves his audience to understand that choices and attitude determine results. Daniel shares his powerful story of adversity — a victim of severe child abuse which led to involvement in drug trafficking and organized crime. And last week, thanks to funding from Monroe Youth Challenge Program (MYCP), more than 1,200 middle school students on eight campuses in Monroe County heard his motivational story. .....Read More >>>

Monroe County Schools Improve Student Safety
KEY WEST (947 words) -- Monroe County Schools, in honor of Florida’s Safe School Week (Oct. 15 – 21) Proclamation made by Governor Jeb Bush, just posted its Safe and Healthy Schools website at www.keysschools.com/departments/SafeHealthySchools. The site shows changes made with new equipment, staff and student trainings, and updates expected to come for the sake of school safety. .....Read More >>>

Entertaining Assembly Encourages Elementary Students
KEY WEST (521 words) -- Elementary kids throughout Monroe County are learning about character through live performances with the red-caped character “Captain Caring” and his friends this week. Every elementary school in the county was able to host an assembly full of live characters, choreographed dancing and singing, laughter and dreams – all in the name of safe schools and character education.....Read More >>>

Coral Shores Alum Amy Griffin Drives Nine Hours to ‘Make a Difference’
TAVERNIER (792 words) -- It’s 5 a.m. Monday, do you know where Tallahassee Community College Freshman Amy Griffin is? She’s driving 60 miles an hour the wrong direction -- or the right direction depending on the point of view. Coral Shores High School graduate Amy Griffin, from the class of 2006, left Tallahassee to help students at Coral Shores and Key West High Schools....Read More >>>

Challenge Day Surpasses Volunteer Benchmark
KEY WEST (792 words)  -- Being real for a day is tough for most people especially for adults – in front of hundreds of teenagers no less. But this year’s Challenge Days hosted by Monroe Youth Challenge Program (MYCP) in all three county high schools surpassed all projections with adult volunteers....Read More >>>

First Lady Bush Awards Acevedo
KEY WEST (612 words) – What does it take to keep kids safe in and out of school in Monroe County? Hard Work. Innovation. Dedicated Partners. Three things Monroe County School District Superintendent Randy Acevedo lives and breathes on his job during the school day and many solitary hours driving up and down U.S. 1 in the evenings and weekends to support the students in Monroe County....Read More >>>

CSHS Leadership Class Delivers Scrapbook as Memorial to Peers, Families
ISLAMORADA (437 words) –The Islamorada Village of Islands Plantation Tropical Preserve and Children’s Memorial Tree Garden on Plantation Key has several trees planted there in memoriam of children who have died. Michele Sutter, Monroe Youth Challenge Program (MYCP)...Read More >>>

Adult Volunteers Needed for Sept. 12-14 Challenge Days
KEY WEST (268 words) – For the past six years Monroe County students have been a part of an intense one-day workshop called Challenge Day. This year brings a new challenge in recruiting volunteers because of a law enacted last year known as the Jessica Lunsford Act. Now more than ever, Challenge Day organizers need volunteers to register early...Read More >>>

 4-H Seasons of Service (SOS) Team Celebrates First Anniversary
TAVERNIER, Fla. (795 words) – With one named hurricane already past this season, Florida Keys residents and visitors can be thankful to know a young crew is trained and ready to serve in disasters. Team members are from the Middle and Upper Keys and have an average of 100 instruction hours per person. These hours range in a combination of leadership, Red Cross Disaster, Health & Safety, and...Read More>>>

 Three SOS Members Attend Red Cross Youth Institute at Emory University
ATLANTA (665 words) – Spending the weekend in Atlanta for some would include dining at the hot spots, and if you were a teen, just hanging out with other teens for fun but four students from the Greater Miami and the Keys Chapter of the American Red Cross recently spent three days...Read More>>>

Field Day Builds Unity for Incoming CSHS Freshmen
TAVERNIER, Fla. – What do rolls of duct tape, falling backwards and the class of 2010 have in common? They were all part of the fun at the ninth-grade transition “Field Day” held May 16 at Coral Shores High School as part of a transition program for the incoming freshmen to help them stick together and reduce the drop out rate for Monroe County students...Read More>>>

Sutter Certified as American Red Cross National Instructor for International Humanitarian Law
TAVERNIER, Fla. (764 words) – As a leader in Monroe County Schools with Monroe Youth Challenge Program (MYCP), bringing students’ minds to a new awareness about global issues is nothing new to Michele Sutter of Tavernier. She is the MYCP district prevention coordinator... Read More>>>

American Red Cross Awards Greenman
MARATHON, Fla. (717 words) – Marathon High School Sophomore Katie Greenman was flown to Washington, D.C. in May to be a guest speaker at the 2006 American Red Cross National Convention. Greenman is a student volunteer with Monroe Youth Challenge Program... Read More>>>

Scrubba Bubba
TAVERNIER, Fla. (289 words) – Coral Shores High School Leadership Student Kara Wiecjorek took her mission literally when she was told to create and implement a program for her individual leadership project that would meet a community need and/or impact the campus....Read More>>>

MYCP Celebrates ‘Circle of Change’ at Awards Banquet
MARATHON, Fla. – With graduation just past and students off to summer jobs, adventures and pre-college plans, here’s one more look back at how a few of those leaders were honored at a recent banquet in Marathon...Read More>>>

CSHS Construction and Leadership Classes Build Gazebo for Village of Islands, Community
TAVERNIER, Fla. - Is there a way to capture the interest of a construction worker and a gardener together and utilize both skill sets to serve a community? That's what a group of students in the Coral Shores High School Construction and Leadership Classes recently learned while earning their ...Read More>>>

Youth Ethics Initiative Conference Attended by 18 Students Keys-wide
KEY WEST - If you thought the subject of ethics was too lofty for teens, think again. Two youth presentation teams composed of Interact Club, and the newly formed 4-H Seasons of Service (SOS) Team members from ...Read More>>>

Helicopter Landings Reach 25% More Monroe County Kidswith Anti-Drug Message
KEY WEST -- Want to make an impact on kids regarding tobacco? Show them a healthy lung and then show them a lung black with disease. Let them sit close enough to hear the air escaping from ...Read More>>>

Coral Shores Students Win Grant to Study and Teach about International Humanitarian Law, Genocide, and the Holocaust
TAVERNIER, Fla. – The ruling Hutu tribe in Rwanda slaughtered 800,000 Tutsi men, women, and children during a hundred-day bloodbath in 1994 while children in America were born in pristine hospitals and celebrated with lavish first-year birthday parties. Now those same American children...Read More>>>