AT&T Awards $5,000 Grant to BERLIN Youth Leadership Program
By Editor at July 14, 2024 | 7:30 pm | Print
Berlin High School’s Upbeat Peer Leadership Program has been awarded a $5,000 grant from the AT&T Foundation to support its leadership training weekend scheduled for September at Camp Woodstock.
The Berlin High School Upbeat Peer Leadership Program is a student-run organization that involves more than 350 students at the high school. This 28-year old comprehensive school and community-based character development and leadership training program is aimed at building decision making skills and providing community service opportunities for Berlin youth.
The AT&T Foundation grant will support a residential, leadership weekend training workshop, taking place September 16 to 18, that is a critical component of the Upbeat Peer Leadership Program. The weekend training provides a curriculum-based learning experience that helps to develop leadership and life skills of the student members, including communication skills, team building, resistance education, community service, cooperative learning activities, group dynamics and project development.
“I applaud AT&T for supporting this excellent leadership program that instills and develops the necessary skills that our young people need to be able to lead their peers, and to be successful in all of their future endeavors,” said House Majority Leader Joe Aresimowicz (D – Berlin/Southington). “Upbeat has been tirelessly investing in Berlin’s youth for 28 years and is more than deserving of this funding.”
“The AT&T Foundation’s mission is to help exceptional organizations grow and positively affect more lives – and Berlin Upbeat Peer Leadership program is an ideal example,” said Abby Jewett, Regional Vice President, AT&T Connecticut. “We are proud to support this effort, and appreciate Rep. Joe Aresimowicz bringing our attention to this terrific group.”
“The Berlin Upbeat Peer Leadership program is very grateful to AT&T and Abby Jewett for their support of the Upbeat Peer Leadership training weekends,” said Alice Mitchell, Executive Director of the Berlin High School Upbeat Peer Leadership Program. “This grant will help fund the September leadership training workshop for our Senior and Junior members.”
At the September workshop, the peer leaders will be planning all the peer leader meetings for the year, developing house goals for the 15 house groups and develop the leadership team for the year. In March, AT&T provided another grant which helped fund the Advanced Leadership Training weekend. At this workshop, sophomore and junior members were divided into 12 groups and developed lessons on preventing bullying for each of the fifth grade classes in the district. The lessons were presented to all of the fifth grade classes during April and May.
