May is “Wellness Month” for the Power of Four teen interns at the Cheyenne River Youth Project®. That means the coming weeks will be filled with health and wellness activities as well as carefully planned work projects.
To start, the teens will attend a special presentation by John Finn, CRYP’s diabetes educator and dietitian, who will speak to the teens regarding healthy food choices and the hazards of their favorite junk-food treats. Denise Lightning Fire from the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe’s Youth Diabetes Prevention Program also will make a presentation, speaking to the interns about the habits and choices that could have long-term consequences, how they can avoid developing diabetes and how to teach friends and family members to choose a healthy lifestyle. And Robyn Chasing Hawk from the CRST Four Bands Healing Center will talk to the teens about drugs and alcohol — and about how their choice to say no can impact their bodies and their lives.
The teens also will have an opportunity to take a field trip to the Lakota Thrifty Mart’s produce section, where they will select healthy snacks for the Cokata Wiconi Teen Center, and they’ll be experimenting with pedometers.
“The teens will get to see just how close they get to their recommended 3,000 steps per day,” noted Megan Guiliano, CRYP’s youth programs director.
And, as always, the Power of Four teen interns are involved with a variety of work projects around the East Lincoln Street youth campus. A particular highlight this month will be the Junior High Basketball Tournament, scheduled for 5-9 p.m. on Friday, May 18. The tournament is open to players ages 12-14 and also will be held in the Cokata Wiconi Teen Center gymnasium.
“As they did with the Youth Basketball 5-on-5 Tournament last month, the interns will run our event concessions,” Guiliano said. “It’s another great opportunity for our teens to practice their business and marketing skills, their food-handling skills and their customer-service skills, all of which will serve them well throughout their lives.”
Other May activities include a visit from the CRST Four Bands Community Fund, which will allow the interns to continue their financial-literacy instruction; two College Night sessions with volunteer service groups from the University of Michigan and Northern Kentucky University; and, perhaps most exciting of all, an eagerly anticipated trip to Washington D.C.
Scheduled for May 22-27, the trip will incorporate meeting with South Dakota representatives, visiting the White House and the U.S. Capitol, touring important national sites such as the Vietnam War Memorial and the Washington Monument, and visiting the Smithsonian Institution. Enthusiasm is already sky high, particularly for visiting the acclaimed National Museum of the American Indian.
Six interns will make the trip: Cecil Baker, Sierra Bobtail Bear, Meta Charger, Madison Gripne, Allen Meeter and Romy Rabbit.
“These teens have worked very hard to earn this trip,” Guiliano said. “They’ve been writing essays about why the trip is important to them and what they hope to gain from the experience, and they attend dedicated weekly Washington D.C. meetings to help them prepare.”
In the meetings, the teens research the history and geography of the area, address political issues and practice public speaking so they will be able to talk about the Power of Four program, the youth project and life on Cheyenne River.
CRYP’s Power of Four program was designed to give teen interns the necessary training and support to learn how to represent their peers and to serve as advocates for their needs and the needs of others in productive, meaningful ways. All activities and events fall under the umbrellas of four key modules — leadership, life skills, job skills and wellness.
Power of Four’s primary focus is to build a 10-member youth advisory board that will represent local young people among CRYP’s board of directors. The council will continue in perpetuity, long after the official three-year internship program has ended. This year’s interns: Cecil Baker, Sierra Bobtail Bear, Elijah Brown Wolf, Meta Charger, Madison Gripne, Allen Meeter, Romy Rabbit and Murray Red Fox.
Each Cheyenne River teen in the Power of Four program serves 16 hours per month and, for this service, receives an $88 monthly stipend. The 16-hour service requirement includes meetings, which take place every Monday and Thursday at 4:30-5:30 p.m. in the Cokata Wiconi Teen Center. And it’s not too late to get involved; to learn more about the Power of Four and to apply for an internship position, contact Guiliano or Smith at (605) 964-8200 or send email to megan.cryp@gmail.com or lindsey.cryp@gmail.com.
To follow the progress of the Power of Four teens, visit their blog at http://cheyenneriveryouthprojectpo4.wordpress.com.
To learn more about the Cheyenne River Youth Project® and its programs, and for information about making donations and volunteering, call (605) 964-8200 or visit www.lakotayouth.org. And, to stay up to date on the latest CRYP news and events, visit the youth project’s Facebook “Cause” page. All Cause members will receive regular updates through Facebook.
The Cheyenne River Youth Project®, founded in 1988, is a grassroots, not-for-profit organization dedicated to providing the youth of the Cheyenne River reservation with access to a vibrant and secure future through a wide variety of culturally sensitive and enduring programs, projects and facilities that ensure strong, self-sufficient families and communities.