COMMON GROUND CONSULTING LLC

80 Million Strong for Young American Jobs Scholarship Apps Due: June 8th

80 Million Strong for Young American Jobs unites young Americans to own and direct their economic reality. To make their goal a reality, they are convening a summit in Washington, D.C. on July 14th and 15th, and ARE INVITING YOU TO PARTICIPATE. The summit is an opportunity for diverse young leaders from across the country to collaborate on innovative ideas and policies to build an economy that reflects the strengths of the Millennial Generation. The key aspects of the summit will be large and small group discussions and policy sessions, where participants will work as a team to create, support, and improve each other's ideas. Ultimately, the summit will conclude in a coherent, cohesive legislative and grassroots agenda for the coalition and its partners to actively pursue. The summit will include a particular focus on creating opportunities in areas such as entrepreneurship, education, healthcare, energy, and national security. In order to supplement the group sessions, the summit will feature national leaders as keynote speakers, each focusing on a particular subject. Confirmed guests include former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, former Congressman Lee Hamilton, and Judy Woodruff of the Newshour. If you would like to attend, please complete the short application by clicking the link below. Applicants are eligible for travel scholarships on a first-come first-serve basis. The early application deadline for those interested in a scholarship is June 8th. The final application deadline is June 15th. http://www.80millionstrong.org/content/apply-summit

World Environment Day: June 5th

World Environment Day (WED) was established by the UN General Assembly in 1972 to mark the opening of the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment. Commemorated yearly on 5 June, WED is one of the principal vehicles through which the United Nations stimulates worldwide awareness of the environment and enhances political attention and action. The day's agenda is to: Give a human face to environmental issues; Empower people to become active agents of sustainable and equitable development; Promote an understanding that communities are pivotal to changing attitudes towards environmental issues; Advocate partnership which will ensure all nations and peoples enjoy a safer and more prosperous future. The theme for WED 2009 is 'Your Planet Needs You-UNite to Combat Climate Change'. It reflects the urgency for nations to agree on a new deal at the crucial climate convention meeting in Copenhagen some 180 days later in the year, and the links with overcoming poverty and improved management of forests. Click below to learn how to get involved, learn more about more global initiatives, download tools, and register your WED activity. http://www.unep.org/wed/2009/

Michelle Obama & CNCS Announce Summer Service Initiative

Our friend and First Lady Michelle Obama and the Corporation for National and Community Service have announced a new Summer of Service initiative that will launch June 22 at the National Conference on Volunteering and Service. It will culminate in a National Day of Service and Remembrance on September 11. As part of this initiative, the Administration has launched a new online portal, http://www.serve.gov, where organizations can list service opportunities and individuals can find openings of interest or develop their own projects.

Save Safe and Drug-Free Schools Funding

SPECIAL ALERT!

CADCA has developed new fact sheets in order to arm the field with the most salient facts about the SDFSC program. The first is titled Eliminating the State Grants Portion of the Safe and Drug Free Schools and Communities Program Is NOT a Sound Proposal, and the second is titled The State Grants Portion of the Safe and Drug Free Schools and Communities Program Must Be Maintained.

These fact sheets are part of the toolkit that CADCA is currently developing to provide advocates with all of the information and tools necessary to continue to effectively advocate for this critical program. As soon as this toolkit is “live,” CADCA will notify the field.

CADCA also is asking that field to continue responding en masse to the legislative alert posted HERE, so that Congress understands how devastating the Administration’s proposal would be to the substance abuse prevention field, if it is enacted. It is particularly important that you respond to this alert if you live in the following states, as these states are represented by members of the Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Subcommittees on Appropriations:

· Alabama· New Hampshire
· Arkansas· New York
· California· Ohio
· Connecticut· Oklahoma
· Hawaii· Pennsylvania
· Iowa· Rhode Island
· Illinois· Tennessee
· Kansas· Texas
· Louisiana· Virginia
· Minnesota· Washington
· Mississippi· Wisconsin
· Montana

As the appropriations process moves forward, CADCA will send out legislative alerts at key points to have the maximum influence. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Kelly Lieupo, Director of Public Policy at [email protected], or David Kurosky, Public Policy Associate, at [email protected].

[From Public Square: Write it on the Wall - My Prevention Community]

Trouble for Texting Teens?: Constant Text-Messaging Concerns Doctors

Teens' text-messaging is on the rise, raising concerns ranging from anxiety and sleep deprivation to repetitive stress injury.

By KATIE HAFNER
The New York Times

They do it late at night when their parents are asleep. They do it in restaurants and while crossing busy streets. They do it in the classroom with their hands behind their back. They do it so much their thumbs hurt.

Spurred by unlimited texting plans offered by carriers such as AT&T Mobility and Verizon Wireless, U.S. teenagers sent and received an average of 2,272 text messages a month in the fourth quarter of 2008, according to the Nielsen Co., almost 80 messages a day, more than double the average of a year earlier.

The phenomenon is beginning to worry physicians and psychologists who say it is leading to anxiety, distraction in school, falling grades, repetitive stress injury and sleep deprivation.

Dr. Martin Joffe, a pediatrician in Greenbrae, Calif., recently surveyed students at two high schools and said he found many were routinely sending hundreds of texts every day.

"That's one every few minutes," he said. "Then you hear that these kids are responding to texts late at night. That's going to cause sleep issues in an age group that's already plagued with sleep issues."

[Read More Nation & World | Trouble for texting teens?: Constant text-messaging concerns doctors | Seattle Times Newspaper]

National Service Nominee Bows Out Citing Health Concerns

Maria Eitel, President Barack Obama’s choice to head the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), has withdrawn her nomination due to an undisclosed health issue.

A message regarding the withdrawal was sent to CNCS grantees late in the day on Friday, May 22. Acting CNCS CEO Nicola Goren wrote that Eitel was withdrawing because of “a previously unknown health condition.” The message continued: “Finding leadership for the Corporation continues to be a high priority for the White House and I’m confident they will work hard to name someone else soon.”

Other than to pass along the message when asked for it, CNCS spokesman Sandy Scott gave little to shed more light on the issue. “Her health is a personal matter. I don’t have any more details,” he replied in an email message. He said that Goren will remain acting CEO until a new nominee is confirmed by the U.S. Senate but did not answer whether she is in the running for the position.

The White House did not have an official statement. An official did confirm the health issue as a reason for the withdrawal but had no further information.

CNCS oversees AmeriCorps and other national service programs. National service has been high on Obama priority list. Previous CEO David Eisner resigned from the position this past fall.

Eitel is the founding president of the Nike Foundation. She was Nike Inc.’s first vice president for corporate responsibility. She also served as European corporate affairs group manager for Microsoft and at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and MCI Communications Corp. She served in the White House doing media affairs work.

[From The NonProfit Times - The Leading Business Publication For Nonprofit Management]

International Job Opportunities

The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids has been designated as one of five coordinating partners for Michael R. Bloomberg’s initiative to reduce tobacco use in low and middle-income countries, where more than two-thirds of the world’s smokers live. As part of this initiative, the Campaign has established a global advocacy resource center to promote the adoption of effective tobacco control interventions and to assist advocates with grants, advocacy and communication resources and technical assistance to achieve policy change. These resources include policy advocacy, research, communications, legal and grassroots expertise and support. The Campaign has placed a priority on working in China, Russia, India, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Mexico and Ukraine, but is also involved in many other countries as well.

The Director of Advocacy of International Programs is responsible for the formulation, supervision, and management of the Campaign’s international advocacy programs. The Director of Advocacy oversees the Campaign’s country specific advocacy efforts, advocacy efforts that cross country lines and all other activities related to the international advocacy efforts of the Campaign.

A Trip to Bedford in May

I'm taking a trip to Bedford between May 21st and May 22nd.

I'll be conducting an on-going consultation with the Bedford County Collaborative Board. Specifically, I'll be a conducting a series of focus groups with seniors in three local schools and leading a visioning session with the board related to serving older at-risk young people.

Research: The Traveler’s Best Friend

This is a great article for anyone who travels much ...

"As the Frugal Traveler, I’m on the road three to six months out of the year, and all that wandering takes not just stamina but organization as well. From researching destinations to booking flights and hotels to actually figuring out what to do when I arrive, I have a long list of Web sites and other resources — some well known, others less so — that I use to learn what’s new, interesting and inexpensive. Since so many are planning their summer vacations, I thought I’d share my tried-and-true process. It’s less about secret Web sites and exotic booking strategies than about sheer thoroughness.

Once my editors and I have decided on a destination, I head straight for an obscure little Web site to do research. It’s called Google, and mastering its nooks and crannies is a skill all travelers should develop. One of the first searches I perform is for my destination plus the words “frugal” and “affordable.” Seriously! When I went to Hawaii’s Big Island in 2007, the search immediately turned up the Pomaikai “Lucky” Farm B&B, an active tropical-fruit farm with comfy rooms for $80 a night — a steal in America’s most expensive vacation spot.

But Google lets me do much more: With Google Maps, I can familiarize myself with a city’s layout and neighborhoods, and I can search for user-created maps of worthy landmarks. (Check out this one of food carts in Portland, Ore.) I also set up daily Google News alerts to get a regular feed of articles about various destinations sent directly to my e-mail inbox. With Google Blog Search, I hunt for food blogs everywhere from Istanbul to Seoul.

I don’t just surf the Web, however — print still has its uses. My go-to guidebook is the Luxe series. The chic hotels, restaurants and boutiques that these lightweight, accordion-style booklets cheekily review are rarely frugal, but I don’t care. When I travel for work, I want to know what to aspire to, and what’s happening right now, and since Luxe guides are updated at least once a year, the intelligence they provide is always fresh. And occasionally, I even find bargains."

[Read More  Research: The Traveler’s Best Friend - Frugal Traveler Blog - NYTimes.com]

LGBT Youth Awareness Week

As some of you know, for seven years I was the executive director at the National Youth Advocacy Coalition (NYAC). It is a powerful voice for marginalized and at-risk young people and an organization that I continue to support.

This year, they have created a new advocacy effort and will celebrate LGBTQ Youth Awareness Week May 25-29!

Join the National Youth Advocacy Coalition and the 2,500 LGBTQ youth-serving organizations they work with in celebrating and raising awareness of LGBTQ youth and the programs and individuals working with them across the country.

To learn more about the week and its events, visit the official website here.

Monday, May 25

Honoring the silenced LGBTQ youth serving in our nation's military.  

Tuesday, May 26

Putting an end to discrimination and violence directed at LGBTQ youth.   

Wednesday, May 27

Addressing the crisis of LGBTQ youth experiencing homelessness.

Thursday, May 28

Creating safe school and safe spaces for LGBTQ youth.  

Friday, May 29

Providing LGBTQ youth with the resources they need to stay healthy.