WILL youth build on environmental education begun in the fall – learning more about sediment and nutrients, climate change and erosion and their impact on the Bay, the filtration, habitat, and food source benefits of the marsh, and how to be better environmental stewards. We set crab pots, scrape on an oyster rock, experience amazing sunsets/sunrises, play fun games in the marsh, learn Leave No Trace ethics, explore barrier islands, and experience wildlife that few have seen before, especially in the wild.

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April 11, 2017, was the second of three WILL Financial Literacy and SMART Goals days. In the morning, WILL youth reviewed the importance of living with financial dignity and the difference between needs and wants. They learned the difference between a credit and debit card, the importance and benefits of finding the right bank for one’s account needs, how to use a check register and why it is important, and the importance of reviewing bank statements. In the afternoon, we reviewed the SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-Bound) Goal concept, then broke in to small groups to discuss goals and action plans previously set, providing positive constructive feedback to one another about those goals.

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March 25, 2017, WILL youth had an amazing interactive day of learning about biases, diversity, inclusion, and connectivity. While we are all unique, we have many similarities that connect us. We discussed how we see others, how we see ourselves, and being inclusive are important to being effective in life and an effective leader. WILL youth also learned that we all have biases and being aware of them, and how we deal with them is an important life skill.

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Saturday, 11 March 2017, was a fantastic 2nd Nutrition and Cultural Awareness and Appreciation WILL program day. WILL youth honed their skills to make healthy nutrition decisions with assistance of Certified Holistic Nutrition and Health Coach Iva. Iva reviewed and reinforced the information learned in January, and we discussed and engaged in a mindful eating initiative, learned about natural sweeteners, the difference between oils and fats and what are some good fats, the importance of greens in one’s diet and being properly hydrated. We then made a delicious lunch of an organic smoothie, avocado toast, sautéed kale, and three ways to enjoy a hardboiled egg. In the afternoon, we learned about the history, culture, current events, music, and folk dance of Ukraine from Gerdan (Andrei, Solomia, and Steve).

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Our Annual Presidents’ Day Bowling was another spectacular day fun day of bowling and WILL youth bonding with one another.

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WILL youth enjoyed watching the 4-D movie about journalism, learning about the Cold War and the Berlin Wall, viewing the largest portion of the Wall outside of Germany and peering inside a three-story East German guard tower, seeing the moving film about the 911 attacks in New York, photos and stories of refugees around the world, and amazing Pulitzer Prize winning photographs. We also had fun in the interactive newsroom where Youth and Steve picked up a microphone, stood before the camera, and felt what it is like to be an on-air reporter. This year, we continued the initiative to bolster our financial literacy work — each youth was given a set amount of income in dining dollars to be spent on lunch at The Newseum Café. They had to figure out what they could buy without going over their “income” and without using any personal funds.

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In the morning, WILL youth discussed the concept of dignity and living one’s life with financial dignity. They learned and had a lively discussion regarding the difference between needs and wants. In the afternoon, we reviewed the SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-Bound) Goal concept and then broke in to small groups to discuss goals and action plans that WILL youth had previously set. They provided positive constructive feedback to one another about those goals and action plans to achieve them, and set new SMART Goals.

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