Town Shop Youth Center

Hi David, it’s Jen here, your old kayaking buddy! How’s your summer been? Full of music festivals and the outdoors, I’m sure.

I took part in a really cool multimedia project this past summer on youth and technology. Our site, www.theyoungandthewireless.com is set to launch any day now (it’s just blogs and temp stuff right now) and we’re running a contest to help get youth-generated content for our site. We’re a bunch of college journalists…what do we know about being young anymore! I know that you have a lot of interaction with youth at the Town Shop, and wanted to extend encouragement to your more tech-minded students to enter our video contest.

Technology has changed young peoples’ experience of the world, and we want to get them to reflect on that creatively. Maybe you could even make an event out of it and do a video all together.

Here are the contest details: Students make a 2 to 3 minute soap-opera style video on how technology has affected their life. It can be silly or sad, reflective or raucus, and be done solo or in groups. Submit it to our YouTube group before December 31st, 2009, and you’re in! We’ve paired up with author and researcher Don Tapscott to offer up to $1,000 in prize money for the best work.

I hope you’ll consider encouraging your students to enter. It could serve as great motivation and exposure for their work. If you have any other ideas for how I could get the word out, I’d love to hear them.

Contest details: www.thewirelesscontest.com
YouTube Group: www.youtube.com/group/youngandthewireless

Please let me know if you have any questions or feedback. I look forward to hearing back from you.

Jennifer Ward
Syracuse University
www.thewirelesscontest.com

Also check out her AMAZINGLY DELICIOUS Food Blog

The Town Shop reopened on October 5 following a September staff vacation. An October/November program calendar is in the process of careful planning and will be posted on the website, and available as “hard copy” soon.

Here are some highlights

• Seva (Samaritan Center)Every Wednesday at 3pm.
• Sunshine Horse Rescue(moving hay) Tuesday, Oct. 13, 5pm – Also Saturdays (Oct. 24, Nov. 7 & 21) 9am working with the horses
• Moroccan Visitors: Thursday, Oct. 8, 2:30-4:30pm, come help us welcome Ms. Fadwah RIH (Director, National Information and Documentation Center For Youth) and Mr. Hicham El Mdaghri (Chief of Service, Ministry of Economy and Finance)……it is their first visit to the U.S. and they would like to meet American teens and learn about youth organizations.
• Zoo (Rosamond Gifford Zoo) Monday, Oct. 12 (no school), 1pm, the Town Shop has a group pass.
• Apple Picking Thursday, Oct. 15, 3pm, Beak & Skiff (sign up), 79c per pound.
• Chimney Bluffs (Chimney Bluffs Hiking) Sunday, Oct. 25, 12 noon, spectacular autumn hiking.
• Sterling Nature Center Sunday, Nov. 1, 12 noon, another Lake Ontario adventure.
• Dodgeball Thursdays (Oct. 29, Nov. 19, Dec. 17), 6:30pm, East Hill Elementary, a chance to get out pent up aggressions.
• Rough Times Live (Teen Program (TV Show) Tuesday, Nov. 10, 6pm, teen produced television show taping at the Town Shop followed by short theatrical performance.
• Eating Our Way Around The World Wednesday, Nov. 11, 11am (no school), Ling Ling’s (China).
• Trip To The Big Apple (New York City) Friday, Nov. 13 to Sunday, Nov. 15 hosted by Mike and Kelly Dubois in Woodstock, NY.
• Classic Movie Night Wednesday, Nov. 25, 7pm hosted by Dan Nolan (film to be announced).

COMING IN DECEMBER/JANUARY: live music showcases, Town Shop overnight, cross country ski trips, winter camping, Everson Art Museum exhibit (”From Turner to Cezanne”) and more……stay tuned!