Missouri State UniversityCenter for Dispute Resolution

October 19, 2015

John Q. Hammons Foundation, Inc.

Dear Ms. Dowdy:

The Center for Dispute Resolution (CDR) is Springfield, Missouri’s primary organization for dealing with conflict management, training, and educational services within schools, families, and communities. We invite you to invest in a $4,000 equipment increase to improve the CDR’s Girls Circle and Guys Gathering programs where young girls and boys come together to realize their strengths, how to withstand social pressures, and how to maintain healthy relationships.

We are encouraged that the John Q. Hammons Foundation supports a wide variety of programs within the Springfield community, including programs and structures at Missouri State University, where the CDR is housed. Clearly, your support is a valuable asset to a community that appreciates and benefits from your generosity. In 2011 your organization contributed $23,312 to the Boys and Girls Clubs of Springfield. It is likely that some of those same girls and boys who participated in that great program participated in our Girls Circle program and Victim-Impact Panel program—a restorative justice program for young, non-violent offenders—and benefited from being able to discuss their daily lives with trained facilitators and a group of their peers. Additionally, the CDR has recently started conducting a Girls Circle and a Guys Gathering at one of the Boys and Girls Clubs in Springfield, and we hope to increase our number of available sessions there, and at other Boys and Girls Club locations, throughout the next year. The faculty and student workers at the Center for Dispute Resolution, and the volunteer facilitators who work with the Girls Circle and Guys Gathering programs, share your commitment toward increasing the levels of self-awareness and opportunities for young boys and girls.

The Problem: Quiet Suffering

Despite a healthy community school program, Springfield, MO has many 6th-12th grade students who often require help beyond the scope of the teacher’s educational role. And oftentimes, parents and counselors are unable to get young girls and boys to open up about issues like abuse, social anxiety, problems at home, etc. These girls and boys are at a critical age of self-discovery, and are heavily swayed by negative influences like peer pressure and media. Additionally, 12-18 year-olds often feel they have no safe outlet to confide in and that they are alienated by their peers. These dilemmas can lead to further problems like drug abuse, unhealthy relationships, dropping out of school, and even suicidal thoughts. Left unaddressed, these issues could create future adults who respect themselves, and others, less than they should.

Poor Choices. Drugs, alcohol, unsafe sex, crime, and fighting are just a few of the problems facing Springfield’s youth. According to results of the 2013 national Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS, n.d.b), 22.1% of the 9th-12th grade students surveyed had been offered, sold, or given an illegal drug on school property. For alcohol, the number is much higher at 34.9% of 2013 students having reported currently drinking alcohol (YRBS, n.d.a). While drugs and alcohol are not the only poor choices students can make, they are among the most cost-heavy.

Problems at Home. The home is sometimes not a safe-haven to boys and girls. Almost 700,000 kids had been abused or neglected in the U.S. in the year 2013 (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,

1

Administration for Children and Families, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Children’s Bureau, 2015). This can include anything from neglect to physical abuse. However, problems at home can also mean issues with family communication. Even being unable or unwilling to connect with their parents can cause teenagers a lot of stress.

Other. There are many other problems facing Springfield’s teenagers today. Problems at school and with academics or extracurricular activities, problems with bullying, or with friends are just a few among a vast variety. The major problem all of these issues add up to is that teenagers need someone to talk to about these problems without being judged, and that is where we come in.

The Solution: Quality Communication

The CDR is dedicated to ensuring that any adolescent, whether at-risk, introverted, bullied, or otherwise described, has access to someone who will listen to his or her problems and who will not only encourage these adolescents, but also give them the power to encourage themselves. Our mission through the Girls Circle and Guys Gathering programs is to empower boys and girls to think for, stay true to, and believe in themselves. This includes allowing them to use their authentic voices; enhancing their critical thinking skills; improving their self-esteem; promoting positive interpersonal and family relationships; decreasing risky and destructive behaviors; and providing an opportunity for the boys and girls to learn, grow, and connect with others while having fun. The Girls Circle and Guys Gathering programs do this through the utilization of 8-10 week structured educational groups for adolescent girls and boys. The programs bring together a group of 4-10 girls or boys, depending on the program type, with two trained facilitators to explore topics relating to emotional, social, and physical well-being. Some of these groups are conducted within schools, while others are conducted at the Boys and Girls Clubs in the Springfield area. Additionally, the CDR conducts an evening session of Girls Circle, mostly for juvenile offenders, at the CDR’s office.

In order to improve upon the programs we have implemented throughout the community, we are requesting $4,000 for new technology. This technology we ask for, eight to ten iPads, would be used to not only do simple tasks like record videos, take images, send information to and from the CDR, and answer any questions the Girls Circle or Guys Gathering participants have, but also to provide higher quality and relatable curriculum through online sources and to access new updates for the curriculum during sessions. These tools would provide an ease of information access that, in turn, would provide our participants with a broad scope of information to increase their critical thinking skills; help them establish a stronger and more trusting relationship with the facilitators, since the facilitators will be able to better answer their immediate questions through internet access; and increase their vocal interaction with their peers and facilitators by getting more involved.

Center Capabilities: Measured Success

The CDR and the Girls Circle and Guys Gathering programs specialize in presenting relatable, inspirational, motivational, and empowering messages to young people. Girls Circle currently has 26 female facilitators who listen, respect, and communicate with the girls during the weekly sessions. Guys Gathering has 10 male facilitators, simply because Guys Gathering is still in its beginning stages of execution. The CDR, through Missouri State University, employs graduate assistants and undergraduate students; however, the CDR has only one full-time employee, the assistant director. The director of the CDR works as a professor on Missouri State’s campus and at the CDR’s office. In total the assistant director and director have more than 25 years of experience working with conflict and conflict-communication. Their experience has been shared with the facilitators who work with the at-risk or introverted adolescent girls and boys and encourage them to believe in themselves, think outside the box, and communicate.

2

To get a better idea of the subjects we cover in order to bring about these positive qualities in the participants, see our curriculum outlines in Table 1 below:

*The Guys Gathering program’s curriculum may change once the program has passed its beginning stages.

The Girls Circle juvenile and school sessions are regularly evaluated by center staff (facilitators and administration), participants (junior high and high school females), and even the participants’ parents to ensure that the program’s curriculum is influential, beneficial, and in the best format possible. The Guys Gathering school and Boys and Girls Club sessions and the Girls Circle Boys and Girls Club session will also follow the same sets of regulations once the programs are past their beginning stages. These regulations consists of:

Participants taking a pre-Girls Circle/Guys Gathering survey during the first week, or in juvenile Circle cases, when the facilitators meet with the girls’ parents. Then, the participants taking a post-Girls Circle/Guys Gathering survey which measures changes in knowledge, attitudes, behaviors, and how effective they believe the program to have been overall.

Participants in Juvenile Circles, which are Circles just for at-risk youth, meeting with a facilitator after the program has ended to have an open discussion, or focus group, where they share their feelings about the benefits or drawbacks of Girls Circle.

Parents or loved ones of the juvenile Circle participants meeting with a facilitator after the Circle curriculum has been completed to conduct a focus group analyzing how the Circle has benefited or not benefited their participant.

Facilitators taking part in a focus group with the CDR once the 8-10 week curriculum has been completed to discuss any issues or concerns about the program.

The CDR’s administrators reviewing the programs on a biannual basis, after each semester of Girls Circle and Guys Gathering programs are complete, to ensure that the content is up-to-date, developmentally appropriate, and engaging.

Because of these regulations, the Girls Circle program has been seen, and continues to be seen, as an effective program by the participants and the parents who are involved in the program, as well as the juvenile system that recommends girls to our program and the schools who allow us to conduct our Circles on their campuses.

To illustrate how effective our Girls Circle program is, here are some testimonials from some participants and their parents or loved ones:

“[Girls Circle] has made me realize that there can always be room for change” (Participant). “Even though the focus of the group was not for me I feel a lot more comfortable knowing that I

can speak to my family about any problems we have” (Brother of a participant). “Everyone involved has been very wonderful and helpful. I really felt that they did care about our

family” (Mom of a participant).

3

Table 1. Program Curricula for Girls Circle and Guys GatheringWEEK GIRLS CIRCLE GUYS GATHERING*

1 Celebrating My Individuality Being a Guy2 Being a Girl Family and Belonging3 Friendships Conflict and Communication4 Relationships Relationships5 Family and Conflict Positive Self-Esteem and Self-Talk6 Positive Self-Talk Friendships and Peer Pressure7 A Healthy Me Bullying, Competition, and Boundaries8 Self-Esteem Being a “Real Man”9 Graduation Graduation

“I think it has shown her what strengths she has and what kind of person she is and she is stronger than she knew” (Mom of a participant).

“[She] has become so much stronger throughout this program. I think it has helped her listen to what people are actually saying” (Family friend of a participant).

“[My sister] seems more confident and mature” (Brother of a participant). “The program was amazing!” (Participant).

We hope, through the implementation of the Guys Gathering sessions, that it has the same impact on the male youth who are struggling to find their place. Budget Request: $4,000

With the demonstrated concern that the John Q. Hammons Foundation has shown for improving the quality of life of and opportunities for children, we respectfully request a contribution of $4,000 to support our need for new equipment. Your funds will help the CDR offer a variety of new curriculum opportunities in our outreach programs to the at-risk youth around Springfield.

The total approved budget of the Girls Circle and Guys Gathering programs is $52,324. This amount will be paid for through Missouri State University, because of the CDR’s connections with their Communication’s Department. It will also be covered by other charitable donations. All of the community programs the CDR offers, including Girls Circle and Guys Gathering, are free of charge. Because the CDR’s operating finances have been covered, including providing for the various activity materials, travel expenses, and training costs for Girls Circle and Guys Gathering, the CDR has managed to stay within a specified budget over the four years of Girls Circle’s operation. The extra funds we are asking you to provide for the additional equipment—eight to ten iPads for facilitators—are outside of the CDR’s means.

In making this $4,000 investment, the John Q. Hammons Foundation will be supporting a cost-effective approach to bettering and empowering the adolescent, at-risk girls and boys of Springfield, MO. The outcome of these programs will touch the lives of kids from at least eight schools and one Boys and Girls Club in the city. And hopefully, many more schools and Boys and Girls Clubs will be affected as we continue to expand the programs.

Please contact Ms. Blades, the CDR’s Assistant Director, to answer questions or to provide additional information. You can contact her by phone or by email.

Sincerely,

Rachelle HayesWriting for the Center for Dispute Resolution

Enclosure: IRS Nonprofit Certification

4

References

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Children’s Bureau. (2015). Child maltreatment 2013. Retrieved from http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/research-data-technology/statistics-research/child-maltreatment

Youth Risk Behavior Survey. (n.d.a). Trends in the prevalence of alcohol use national YRBS: 1991—2013. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/data/yrbs/pdf/trends/us_alcohol_trend_yrbs.pdf

Youth Risk Behavior Survey. (n.d.b). Trends in the prevalence of marijuana, cocaine, and other illegal drug use national YRBS: 1991—2013. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/data/yrbs/pdf/trends/us_drug_trend_yrbs.pdf

5