On Thursday morning March 6 I hauled myself out of bed at dawn to attend Project Cornerstone’s Asset Champions Breakfast. So why should Silicon Valley parents care?
Well, if you aren’t familiar with Project Cornerstone, check out www.projectcornerstone.org. It’s good stuff and every parent in the valley should pay attention.
I won’t give you the marketing spiel but basically Project Cornerstone has identified things we should be doing that will help develop healthy, caring and responsible children. How can any parent argue with that?!
OK, you want the pitch? Here is it, direct from their Web site:
Project Cornerstone’s vision is simple —to build a web of support around every young person in our community. This web of support includes families, schools, community centers, faith communities and local businesses. Unfortunately, these resources are disconnected from each other and often from children and youth themselves. Project Cornerstone facilitates the connection of the separate parts of the web so that young people can count on individuals and organizations working together to provide them with consistent support and guidance.
The great thing about Project Cornerstone is that they have formalized programs but also just simple things we can be doing every day to make our youth feel valued.
Do you know the name of the children in your neighborhood? If not, learn them and greet them regularly.
Do you smile at children and say hello when you pass them on the street or in a store? It’s simple but it makes a difference.
At the breakfast yesterday, Misha Balangit, a senior at Gunderson High School, who was the Masters of Ceremony with Chief of Police Rob Davis summed it up: “You may not realize how a little thing can make such a big difference.”
Cheers, Vikki Bowes-Mok, SiliconMom reader and contributor
