iCare Launch Party was a Success

Thursday November 18^th, was proclaimed by the Mayor Ballard as “I Care” day in Indiana.

The media campaign was launched to the public at Arsenal Tech high School that night and was catered by the schools very own culinary students. The presentation of the food was beautiful and also delicious. The night featured Matt Tully as the keynote speaker, Leslie Olsen, former WISH TV Reporter as the MC, a performance from the Decatur Central High School jazz band, a poetry interpretation by Durell Jamerson from Ben Davis High School, and an acoustic performance by Kaylie Branch from Warren Central high school. The crowd was blown away by the student performances. Durrell brought tears to the attendees’ eyes when he read his poem.  There was a Q/ A panel that consisted of Fred Hopkins (Student), Rocki Howard (Parent), and Don Stinson (Superintendent of Decatur Township). The panelists answered questions that the audience had submitted, and were able to give a perspective from each of the student, parent, and administrator groups.

The goal of the event was a call to action and to reinforce the public awareness of the high school dropout prevention initiative. The event was featured on the channel 6 nightly news http://www.theindychannel.com/education/25846755/detail.html. About 100 people attended the event with a majority of the attendee signing up to volunteer, donate and join the Student Success Team. The event was a huge success and many thanks go to our sponsors: State Farm, Emmis Communication, Miller Peirce, and the members of the Student Success Team.

Community Change Initiative- EIP

Community change initiatives “mobilize the community for action; strengthen the capacity of residents and organizations; build and improve neighborhoods; and the lay the groundwork for future progress”. MCCOY’s Early Intervention and Prevention (EIP) Initiative is a community change initiative currently in play in Marion County. The overall goal of the Initiative is to reduce child abuse, neglect and delinquency in our community through comprehensive community efforts that coordinate, build capacity and advocate for high-quality early intervention and prevention services in Marion County. MCCOY staff are not naïve enough to think we can tackle this issue or make a large positive impact without the support of the community’s residents, including its leaders, families and youth. By better coordinating community efforts, improving neighborhoods and the capacity of residents to better parent their children we hope to build a future for Marion County where all children are free from abuse or neglect receiving the care, support and resources they need to grow into healthy and fully contributing members of society. Will you help us?

If you have not been involved in this community change initiative but would like to learn more or get involved, please attend the all EIP Team Meeting on Monday, November 22nd from 9am-12pm at the United Way building (3901 N. Meridian Street), RCI room. During this meeting you will learn about accomplishments and progress of the Initiative to date, future projects and plans, and be able to spend time working in a work group to begin to lay the foundation for moving the work forward in 2011. Your support, assistance, and expertise would be greatly appreciated!

To ask any questions or to learn more about the EIP Initiative please feel free to contact Shanna Malott, Early Intervention Community Coordinator, at 317-921-1233 or shanna.malott@mccoyouth.org.

Riley Safety Store

It doesn’t happen often, but sometimes the perfect information presents itself to you at the perfect time. Three weeks ago, my cousin and his 10 month old son unexpectedly moved in with my parents. It has been a rough adjustment and the house is certainly more crowded with a little baby crawling all about, but my parents are happy to help. However, the house is definitely not childproof, as I suspect that there has not been a kid in there for over five years.

The same week that my cousin moved in, I started a new position at MCCOY as the Resource Development Officer for the Early Intervention and Prevention Initiative. This initiative has broad-based support from several government agencies and dozens of Indianapolis nonprofits, and focuses on preventing child abuse, child neglect, and juvenile delinquency. One of the first meetings that I attended was the MCCOY Provider Council, where a representative from the Riley Safety Store informed the group about this amazing asset in our community. The Riley Safety Store “offers low-cost child safety products and injury prevention education to both Riley Hospital families and all families from throughout Indiana.” (http://rileychildrenshospital.com/parents-and-patients/wellness-center/safety-store/index.jsp)

Located in the gift shop in Riley Hospital (and at satellite locations throughout the state), this store offers dozens of safety products AT COST! They have baby gates, cabinet locks, bike helmets, gun locks, bath water thermometers, and much much more. And to reiterate: they sell these products at cost! This means that they are cheaper than Walmart. The store’s selection is extensive and the staff members are educated to select the correct products for each family.

Armed with this information about the Riley Safety Store, my family was able to completely childproof the house without spending a lot of money. I know that my mom and cousin were really impressed and thankful for this program. Mom keeps reminding us how her future grandchildren will be so safe in her home, but after a few more weeks of her sweet little nephew, I know that she may be ready for a baby-free break! On my mother’s endorsement, and on behalf of MCCOY, I encourage you to visit the Riley Safety Store and spread the word. Make child safety a priority!

iCare Launch Party - You're Invited!!

Want to learn more about the reasons why students are dropping out of school? Want to know what affects the drop-out rate has on our community and the students themselves? Want to help improve the high school graduation rates in Marion County?


Students are dropping out of high school at record numbers. The high school drop-out rate in Marion County is more than 27% - that’s one in four of our students. Students’ number one reason for dropping out of school is because they feel that no one cares. They do not have a caring adult; parent, teacher, mentor, etc. to help motivate them to stay in school and believe in them. Another reason why students drop-out is because of frustration of catching up; they are under credit and over age. They do not know how to catch up when they fall behind.

Dropping out has a significant impact on the future lives of these students. Students who drop-out of high school will earn an average amount of $10,000 a year less than individuals that graduate from high school. Because of this, drop-outs are likely to need supportive services from government such as health care, food stamps, and other welfare – which increase the tax dollars on the community at large. Often times drop-outs turn to crime in order to feed and house their families, which lead to increased costs on the juvenile and criminal justice system.

If we as a community work together to increase the graduation rates, we would see a significant positive impact. For example, if just 1,000 additional local students graduated from high school they would earn $13 million in additional earnings each year, they would spend an additional $1 million each year purchasing vehicles, and would support 100 new jobs in the community, and give an additional $1.4 million annually into community organizations through increased spending, investing, and donating (according to Alliance for Excellent Education – January 2010).

To learn more and to take action to help, please attend MCCOY’s “iCare” public awareness campaign Launch Party on Thursday, November 18th from 5-7 p.m. at Arsenal Technical High School – Admin Building, Room 7 (1500 E. Michigan St.) At this event, you will hear from Matthew Tully from the Indianapolis Star, about what he has seen as a reporter in the Indianapolis Public School district, and hear his inspiring and memorable stories of students and their lives. Attendees will also have the opportunity to ask questions of a panel consisting of a Marion County student, parent, and administrator. Attendees will enjoy student performances and refreshments made from Tech’s culinary students. After expanding knowledge about why students are dropping out, attendees will be asked to take action to help by donating, volunteering, or signing-up for MCCOY’s monthly Student Success email alerts.

Register at http://www.rsvpbook.com/event.php?404202 and learn more about the public awareness campaign at http://www.icareindy.com/.

Election Day! Tuesday November 2nd.

Tuesday, November 2nd is Election Day. I overheard some great voting advice from a colleague at MCCOY: "Never let your voting be motivated by fear or by angst." Use your head and vote for the candidate you trust to represent you.

The Indianapolis Star Voting Guide allows you to preview your ballot and see profiles of all the candidates. Make sure to enter the address listed on your voter registration.

Are you registered? Have you moved to a new neighborhood since the last election? You can confirm your registration here. You’ll see the address on file for your registration and your polling place.