ABOUT US
As an initiative of the North Penn YMCA, the mission of the Indian Valley Character Coalition is to promote positive youth development by providing information, supporting programs and strengthening community relationships that promote the principles of Character Counts! and that build assets to help youth stay healthy, safe and drug-free.
OUR HISTORY
The Indian Valley Character Counts! Coalition (IVCCC) has a rich history of serving its community. The Coalition was established in 1997 and based its work on the principles of the Josephson Institute’s Character Education program.
In 2005, the Souderton School District (SASD) participated in the statewide Pennsylvania Youth Survey (PAYS) project coordinated through the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD). This survey instrument is built on the platform of the Communities That Care (CTC) model. While it was commendable that the school district took the lead in implementing a youth survey with a large cohort of students, the IVCCC was not part of the planning process to implement any community-level change strategies to reduce substance use. This began to change in 2008.
As it happens in so many communities throughout America, when an adolescent suffers an early death due to a drug overdose, it spurs the community to action. In the case of the Indian Valley community, that is exactly what occurred in the summer of 2008. In the span of two months, two graduates of Souderton High School died from prescription drug overdoses. The immediate aftermath of tragedies provided an opportunity for a community to turn its attention to a previously unknown/unexamined community problem. The IVCCC responded.
At the same the IVCCC was approached by a neighboring Coalition funded by the DFC. This neighboring coalition served as a mentor to the IVCCC. IVCCC became involved in and participated with the national Drug Free Communities (DFC) Support Program. In 2009 new mobilization events were occurring in the community and the IVCCC accepted the invitation to participate in the DFC program. It was during this time that the IVCCC began its due diligence regarding the DFC program. The IVCCC Mobilizer and the IVCCC Executive Committee clearly understood why youth substance use prevention needed to become a central focus to their mission in support of their previous efforts in enhancing character-building activities. At this time the Coalition redefined its internal structure recognizing substance abuse is a community issue and that schools cannot tackle this issue alone. IVCCC began its endeavor to become a catalyst in the community for reducing substance abuse.
In 2009, after the internal structure of the Coalition was modified, the IVCCC approved the addition of youth substance use prevention to the Coalition’s areas of focus. A revision of the IVCCC mission statement was adopted to include substance abuse use and prevention. “The mission of the IVCCC is to promote positive youth development by providing information, supporting programs and strengthening community relationships that promote the principles of character education and that build assets to help youth stay healthy, safe and drug free.”
IVCCC has evolved and is a structured organization with an executive committee of Coalition officers, chairs, treasurer, and secretary. Community organizations have extended invitations to IVCCC to events, calling for substance abuse related information. This is in part due to the strong connection with the schools and businesses of the Indian Valley.
In 2013, Senator Stewart Greenleaf worked with the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD) to bring evidence-based prevention programs to local schools and communities through the Communities That Care (CTC) Model. The IVCCC participated in this movement and has since adopted the CTC Program in the Indian Valley. The coalition was awarded a grant and was selected to participate in the new “eCTC” Program. The coalition is currently working through the five phases of the CTC Program. Since the implementation of the CTC Process the IVCCC has delivered the PAYS Survey to students in the Souderton Area School District. The coalition currently has a working CTC system in place and has identified priorities through the PAYS Survey. Data from the PAYS survey has been used to complete a Community Assessment and A Community Resource Assessment (expected completion, November 2017). These Assessments will guide the coalition in its prevention work efforts to develop a Community Action Plan.
By having these structures in place through the building of strong connections and relationships with our stakeholders and collaborations with our partners that are inside and outside our community the Coalition has been able to support the processes necessary to address youth substance use prevention under the CTC Model.
More recently, the IVCCC Coalition received a continuation grant from the PCCD in April of 2017 to continue working through the CTC Prevention Model. At the end of the grant cycle the coalition completed a Community Action Plan that was released in 2020. For more information reach out to donnap@northpennymca.org.
Currently, the Indian Valley Character Counts! Coalition is funded by the North Penn YMCA and supported by local business and community organizations.
If you would like more information on how to become a member please reach out to donnap@northpennymca.org.