National Youth Organization Highlights SU, Local Community

SALISBURY, MD---For the second year in a row Salisbury University and other organizations throughout the region have helped make the Salisbury/Wicomico County area one of the 100 best communities for young people, according to America’s Promise—the Alliance for Youth.

The national youth organization based the designation on the area’s programs, agencies and individuals committed to bettering children’s lives. Along with the University itself, affiliated organizations including the Lower Shore Child Care Resource Center, Salisbury’s Promise and ShoreCorps/PALS (Partnership for Adolescents on the Lower Shore) were noted in the application for the 2007 honor.

Also highlighted were efforts to launch the Youth Leadership Academy, held at SU in a joint effort between Salisbury’s Promise, the Wicomico County Local Management Board and Kids of Honor. The academy engages children in the community with policymakers and service providers.

“This honor validates what people and groups have been doing for a long while in this community,” said Dr. George Whitehead, chair of Salisbury’s Promise.

The Local Management Board collaborated with Salisbury’s Promise to compile detailed information about the community’s efforts to fulfill the five basic America’s Promise pledges. They are: caring adults actively involved in children’s lives, safe places for children to learn and grow, a healthy start toward adulthood, effective education that builds marketable skills and opportunities to help others.

Representatives from this year’s 100 best communities recently attended an event celebrating their selection at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C.

For more information call 410-543-6030 or visit the America’s Promise Web site at www.americaspromise.org.