DOING GOOD
Neighbors Helping Neighbors Celebrating the spirit of giving that builds the foundation of St. Croix Valley. By Madeline Kopiecki
WHILE THE ST. CROIX VALLEY is
sprawling, it contains a through line that represents the hallmark of every healthy community: supporting its own. For this Best of St. Croix Valley issue, we want to check in with a few stellar nonprofits and programs that share time, resources and passion throughout the community.
The Stillwater Area Community Foundation funded the cleaning and reclaiming Fairy Falls, pictured here.
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This youth-led program is built of Hudson High School students who create their own programming throughout the year to engage and enrich the surrounding community. “Currently, we run 10–15 programs that our youth implement and participate in,” says YAH executive director Meredith Arcand. The longest running of these programs is Peer-to-Peer, which provides resources and presentations to middle school students. “YAH youth reach out to their peers, engaging them in positive selfimage, how to prepare for high school and how to be a positive participate in your community,” Arcand says. On average, she notes that 66 percent of all middle school students report learning something new from these presentations. The youth-led nature of YAH also allows members to introduce events and programs of their own, which can keep pace with the ever-evolving needs faced by students today. One such program is the Mental Health Youth Ambassadors program, launched in January 2022. “The goal of this program is to equip teens with the tools and information so they can become active at identifying a peer in crisis and know how to direct them to the proper resources,” Arcand says. Arcand says she’s most proud of the program’s 47 youth participants. “Their lives are full of many things they have to do, and volunteering is not something they have to do; it is a choice,” she says.
June/July 2022
stcroixvalleymag.com
Photo: Eric Galler
Youth Action Hudson (YAH)
