Be an ASSET for KIDS

There are many ways to build assets. What fits for you? Here are five steps that can help you focus on how you'll build assets for children and youth.

Act Now... don't wait until you have more time, more skills, more opportunities. Take a fresh look at how you can use the little opportunities that come up in your everyday routine.

Share your strengths... you already have gifts, talents, interests, and traits that can be valuable for asset building. Identify those and start sharing them with kids.

Stretch yourself... it's good to start with things that fit into your everyday routine, but don't stop there. As you get more comfortable building assets, find ways to make it a more intentional, focused part of your life.

Experiment... try something new.

Tell others about it... the more people know about assets and start intentionally building them, the better communities will be for kids.

Some things that are NOT REQUIRED to build assets:

• Being a parent;
• Being a professional working with youth;
• Being an adult (kids can build assets, too!);
• Being outgoing, athletic, charismatic, or famous;
• Having lots of spare time or money - Everyone can build assets!

Copyright©2003 by the Great Lakes Center for Youth Development except where noted
Contact Judy Watson-Olson or Karen Thompson at (906)228-8919 with questions/comments
Some information on this site is produced by other sources, see bibliography for source
This page was last updated on Monday, January 05th, 2009