By BERNADETTE LAURITZEN
Executive Director
Champions of Youth Ambitions
This column is to encourage those who have yet to take advantage of two FREE programs to do so before it is too late.
The first is our annual Community Asset Awards. You can nominate anyone who lives, works or goes to school in our community to be recognized for doing great things. It takes about 5 minutes and can be done online. If you can’t do it online, then call us and we’ll take your information over the phone.
You must know a great person, organization or business you could brag about from some point in 2025? We ask that you not nominate a huge batch of people, but take the time to recognize a few who make your life or that of someone else better.
It is one reason DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion), which sounds like a bad word lately, is so important. Last year found NO youth nominated for recognition in our community. Do we all not know one young person who goes above and beyond in this community? If so, www.cya-nm.org is your one stop hop to tell people why. You have until Dec. 24 to get it done.
The second is our FREE suicide prevention information. We will offer an opportunity to parents/caregivers ALONG WITH their middle or high school-aged youth, to attend the one-hour presentation together.
The cover of the 40-page booklet that is given to those who complete the free suicide prevention training, which is sponsored by 100 Men Who Care – Los Alamos. Courtesy/C’YA
The program is about the signs/events to look for if people are struggling and provides a ton of resources. We have a limited number of in-person seats, but this presentation will be available via Zoom. If this is successful, we will offer it again in the future. Adults seem to want their kids to have the information, so why not attend together? We will provide a wonderful free guide in addition to the class. Registration is through cya.org@att.net. The class is 2-3 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 27.
Our presentations this year have been sponsored by 100 Men Who Care – Los Alamos. Wouldn’t it be great if we could round out the year by training our youth along with their adults? Take A Second, Make A Difference, before it’s too late. Call or text 505.695.9139.