Over 130 area youth, teachers, administrators, community partners, and volunteers gathered November 13 to attend Vive-18, a youth empowerment event that has been sweeping the nation. (Submitted photos)
Pictured with Vive-18 owner Jake White at the Vive-18 Youth Empowerment Event are Rock Port students Archer Meyerkorth and Leah Meyerkorth.
Area youth attended the Vive-18 empowerment event held in November, including Tarkio students, from left to right: front row – Charlotte Piper and Taya Windham; and back row – Brody Wennihan, Bryar Wennihan, Tristan Burke, and Vera Hale.
Over 130 area youth, teachers, administrators, community partners, and volunteers gathered November 13 to attend Vive-18, a youth empowerment event that has been sweeping the nation.
Over the course of the past two years, area students identified that historical methods of substance use prevention are no longer effective, stating that boring lectures and scare tactics don’t work.
The Vive-18 event was brought to the area to deliver engaging, high-energy, age appropriate presentations on substance use (including marijuana/THC, alcohol, vaping, fentanyl) so students can make informed choices about what they let into their brain and body. Students today have access to drugs almost everywhere. That’s why it’s important to educate them before they believe faulty information from their friends, dishonest ads, or social media.
During the full day youth event, participants were encouraged to achieve success by relying on a little help from others. Jake White, co-founder of the Vive-18 team, shared a personal experience about what “fitting in” meant to him in college and how he took matters into his own hands to develop the fun and substance-free social atmosphere he desired.
In addition to the youth event, adults attended a one-day training that provided them with a toolkit with fun, engaging, and impactful lessons on prevention. The curriculum provides more than surface level facts and activities. It dives into the real strategies like coping skills, goal setting, resilience, boundaries and decision making skills.
Participating schools included Worth County, North Nodaway, Nodaway-Holt, Rock Port, Northeast Nodaway, Jefferson, Stanberry, West Nodaway, Maryville, and Tarkio. All school teams were given a “Shark Tank” opportunity to present plans for an event to engage their peers and/or community members in a substance-free social event. Many groups identified that inclusiveness is the value that they find most important to preventing substance use in today’s society. Participating groups were also given the opportunity to submit their plan for mini grants from $500-$1,000/school to finance their event.
Jake White and the Vive-18 team were impressed by the engagement of the representatives of each of the 10 schools and boasted about the welcoming and accommodating behaviors of the hosts at Jefferson C-123 School District.
Moving forward, members of the Northwest Communities Care (NWCC) coalition along with partners from Connect Worth County, The Health and Wellness Coalitions of Tarkio, Rock Port, and Harrison County as well as local certified peer specialists look forward to assisting participating student leaders in the quest to share the Vive-18, Beyond Drugs, Alcohol, and Vaping with peers on their own school campus.
Sponsors who helped make the dream of this impactful event a reality include the following: Nodaway County Commission, Northwest Health Services, Harrison County Health Department, Mosaic Medical Center – Maryville, Nodaway County Health Department, DHSS Community Health and Wellness, Tarkio/Westboro Ministerial Alliance, Nodaway Valley Bank, United Fiber, Rock Port Ministerial Alliance, Atchison County Sheriff’s Department, Jefferson C-123 School, Maryville Hy-Vee, Casey’s General Store – East Maryville, and Domino’s Pizza – Maryville.
