ALVA Connection
We invite ALVA grads, current ALVA participants, ALVA class facilitators, and VAN staff and Leadership Group members to participate in ALVA Connection. ALVA Connection provides opportunities to forge and maintain relationships and continue the work we started in the ALVA class.
ALVA Connection is the fruit of an ALVA project by Virginia Cherne and Bill Read, participants in the ALVA cohort of 2008/2009.
Vision
ALVA Connection supports leadership development for the greater good of communities and the society at large.
Mission
ALVA Connection is an organization of ALVA alumni and friends that facilitates the ongoing leadership journeys of our members through social, networking, educational, and mentoring opportunities. Our activities will support existing and future leadership projects as well as enhance the vitality and sustainability of the ALVA program and future classes.
Join us for an upcoming meeting!
Tuesday, September 21, 2010 from 6:30PM to 8:30PM
RosePoint Senior Living
Town Hall Room
2555 Hamline Avenue North
Roseville, MN 55113
Mentoring Children of Prisoners Presentation
By Mary Ellen Kennedy
Mary Ellen Kennedy taught fifth and sixth graders for 31 years in the Robbinsdale School District before she retired in 1996. This year, she is playing a major role in helping children with incarcerated parents connect with adult mentors and address the fear, confusion, guilt, isolation, and anger they often face.
A graduate of the 2009-2010 ALVA Leadership Development Program, Mary Ellen gained the skills and support necessary to implement her project. During the research phase of her project, Mary Ellen discovered the Mentoring Children of Prisoners (MCOP) Program at Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Greater Twin Cities. She learned that approximately 20% of the children in Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Greater Twin Cities are in the MCOP Program. Comparatively, approximately 15,000 children in Minnesota have a parent who is incarcerated (Source: "Families with Incarcerated Parents Fact Sheet," Minnesota Fathers and Families Network, Britney Roseneau, M.P.H. candidate, University of Minnesota, Maternal and Children Health, for compiling this fact sheet, Feb. 2010).
At the September ALVA Connection meeting, Mary Ellen will talk about her ALVA journey. She will specifically highlight how:
- This social welfare issue influences her life.
- She turned her passion into action.
- She continues to overcome any barriers to leadership in older age.
- The future direction of her project, and what she hopes to accomplish.
Come to this Forum to connect with Mary Ellen, and learn from her experience as you continue on your ALVA Leadership Development Project and (re) connect with other ALVA graduates.
This section includes the following pages:
- Upcoming Meetings - Join us for the next ALVA Connection meeting.
- Leadership Team Meeting Minutes - Leadership Team meeting minutes and other info.
