"Stopping at every lemonade stand" is a metaphor James Vollbracht calls on for illustrating a community that cares for its kids.
"Creating Communities That Care for All Kids" will be the topic of Vollbracht's speech on Saturday, Nov. 13, which is the keynote address for the annual Creating a Healthy Community conference. The conference, free and open to the public, is organized by St. Luke's Center for Community Health and the Blaine County Community Drug Coalition. It will be held at the Community Campus in Hailey. Doors open at 9 a.m., and Vollbracht is scheduled to speak from 9:30-11:30 a.m.
Pre-registration is strongly encouraged and can be done online at stlukesonline.org/healthycommunity. The place to register is at the bottom of the page.
Vollbracht has 20 years of experience in supporting the healthy development of youth. He wrote "Stopping at Every Lemonade Stand: How to Create a Culture that Cares for Kids."
Vollbracht will introduce listeners to the four key principles and three key shifts that he says are needed to create and sustain communities that care for children. Listeners will be introduced to what Vollbracht says are the seven qualities that make this generation unique and told how to capitalize upon their assets, not their deficits. Vollbracht will also draw upon the Wood River Valley's recent adolescent survey data to provide localized suggestions for transforming the lives of local youth.
Those attending will have a chance to do more than just listen to a speech. They can also participate in one of three learning sessions—11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m.—of varying topics after the lecture. The topics are Making It Happen, How To Have Crucial Conversations with Your Child, and How Healthy and Safe Are Blaine County Youth?
The Blaine County Community Drug Coalition will also present its fourth annual Unsung Hero Community Awards during the conference. These awards are given in a variety of categories to recognize the everyday heroes contributing to the community's health.
Spanish translation will be available for the keynote presentation.
Trevon Milliard: tmilliard@mtexpress.com
James Vollbracht
