Healthy Communities Initiative (HCI) recently held its second annual “Power of One” fundraising breakfast at the Springhaven Country Club in Wallingford. About 150 business and community leaders, local government officials, educators and students attended.

The stated purpose of the non-profit organization, created in 2000, is to be “dedicated to helping youth develop into healthy, caring and responsible adults, through the model of the 40 Developmental Assets identified through the Search Institute.” These assets fall into categories, including Support, Empowerment, Boundaries and Expectations, Constructive Use of Time, Commitment to Learning, Positive Values, Social Competencies and Positive Identity. The assets have been linked to success in school and a reduction of risky behavior in teens, including drug and alcohol use.

HCI Executive Director Dana Riker Jackson thanked participants for their ongoing support and restated HCI’s mission. “The Search Institute’s research shows that nationally, youth have acquired only 19 out of 40 identified assets,” she said. “An increase to even 21 of these assets would bring about a 50 percent reduction in risky behavior, according to Search Institute statistics.”

Other speakers at the event included HCI Board President Rev. Larry V. Smoose, of Reformation Lutheran Church in Upper Providence; Robert J. Bulgarelli, D.O., a cardiologist at Riddle Memorial Hospital/MLHS and the chairperson of the breakfast; Penncrest High School student Matthew Toal, creator of a PowerPoint presentation of HCI accomplishments; Gary Kamin and student Cayman Seiffert, representing the Partners in Excellence™ (P.I.E.™) Mentoring Program; Beth Mingey, director of Holcomb Behavioral Health Systems and her daughter, Taryn; and HCI Optimist Club student representatives Ambera Carroll and Craig Cassey. Twenty-one other Penncrest High School students belonging to the HCI Optimist Club and their advisor, Bernadette Dacanay, home and school visitor for the Rose Tree Media School District, were instrumental in the successful outcome of the breakfast and were excellent representatives of the Rose Tree Media School District.

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Participants in HCI’s Partners in Excellence (P.I.E.)™ program were also in attendance. This program recruits employee mentors from local businesses and organizations, who spend two hours a month with the student during their four years of high school. A college scholarship incentive encourages students to continue in the program and graduate from high school. The P.I.E.™ program advisor is Penncrest High School staff member Cyndy Garvin.

HCI is also committed to providing parental support through Parenting Partners, a skills workshop focused on elementary age children offered in the spring and fall; and the Parenting Discussion Series, which features ongoing monthly meetings with topics relevant to parents of adolescents, led by licensed area therapists trained in child development.

Honored sponsor of the breakfast was the Franklin Mint Development Team, with a donation of $7,500. Other sponsors included Franklin Mint Credit Union, Riddle Memorial Hospital/MLHS, Reformation Lutheran Church, Media Presbyterian Church, Rocky Run YMCA, Media Real Estate, BeneServ and the Pennsylvania Institute of Technology. Thanks to the generous contributions from our sponsors, special and individual contributors and advertisers, HCI raised $27,000 to support its ongoing efforts.

Future goals of HCI include “becoming the primary resource center for Delaware County in building the “40 Assets;” creating an annual Asset Award to recognize members of the community who best demonstrate the assets; and sustaining and growing established programs to have a greater impact on our youth,” according to Riker Jackson.

HCI is always looking for volunteers for its many programs and financial support to maintain them. To learn more, visit www.hcicares.org, email consultdana@aol.com, or call 610-566-8272.