June 14, 2010  

Cathy Lewis honored at 2010 Annual Meeting by Hancock County Children’s Council

The HANCOCK COUNTY CHILDREN’S COUNCIL, a program of Downeast Health Services, is delighted to present the 2010 Nancy Gentile Humanitarian Award to Cathy Lewis of Sorrento at their annual meeting held on June 8th, 2010.  Cathy is passionate about children, families and firmly believes that the only way to reach children is by reaching out to parents and involving them in their children’s education.  She is currently serving as Assistant Principal at Sumner Memorial High School in Sullivan.
 
During the last 39 years, Cathy Lewis has worked as an early elementary teacher, administrator and college professor.  She provides professional development to educators at all levels and venues from local school districts to national audiences.  A published author, she writes about building on strengths when bridging the gap in rural Maine.  While she has been an inspiration to teachers, parents, and community members; most importantly, she is beloved by students and children throughout Downeast Maine.  “She has a passion for teaching and for learning that makes both students and teachers strive to be the very best they can be”, from a former teacher in Steuben.  According to Cathy, “so much of what we want for our children is that they are safe, healthy, happy and able to reach their highest goals” and “when the story is told, I hope that it will be abundantly obvious that I cared and I wanted to be part of something good in their lives”.
 
Recently, Cathy presented the keynote address to a daylong conference on “Making a Difference”.  She epitomizes the engaging traits of providing developmental assets to all children, birth to adulthood, which is a natural tie-in to our workshop on “What ALL Young People Need to Succeed” to follow the annual meeting at Faith Community Fellowship, Bar Harbor Road, Route 3, Trenton.  The annual meeting breakfast and workshop are free and open to the public, though space is limited to 100; reservations may be made by calling Candy Eaton at 667-5304 ext. 261 or email children@downeasthealth.org.
 
The Hancock County Children’s Council is delighted to provide the opportunity for Mike Clifford and Margaret Jones, Vision Training Associates, to present a lively and interactive 3 hour workshop on the Search Institute’s 40 Developmental Assets.  These important building blocks have been shown to both increase thriving (health-enhancing) behaviors and reduce risky (health-compromising) behaviors among young people across our country.  The evidence is compelling – the more assets a young person has in their life, the better.  We believe that providing opportunities to experience the assets is the responsibility of everyone in Hancock County.  Further, we believe that uniting as a community around the language and intention of the assets will provide us the best chance of raising kids who do well in life, build healthy, respectful relationships and enjoy a healthier adulthood.
 
The framework of Developmental Assets suggests a vision of a community in which every individual, organization, and network recognizes and acts upon its role and responsibility for contributing to young people’s healthy development.  Rather than suggesting specific, community-wide actions or programs that are needed, the asset-building approach emphasizes the importance of a community uniting around a common vision.   
 
The Hancock County Children’s Council collaborates annually to provide the “RealCare™ parenting program”, formerly known as “Baby Think it OverŪ”, to Hancock County students in 7th & 8th grades or area high school classes.  This program allows students to participate in a hands-on realistic parenting experience that replicates the 24 hour/day care required by infants throughout a weekend or week-long period of time.  This project, along with Big Brothers Big Sisters and the Downeast Family YMCA are currently participating in a 5 year collaborative research project aimed at strengthening prevention capacity with the RAND Corporation, Search Institute and Vision Training Associates.  
 
In March of 1987, the HANCOCK COUNTY CHILDREN’S COUNCIL established the Nancy Gentile Humanitarian Award to perpetuate her name and encourage and recognize individuals who are symbolic of the qualities she shared with others.   Nancy Gentile was a strong human rights advocate whose life tragically ended in an automobile accident at the age of 36.  She worked for fifteen years to end violence against women and children, serving as Director of Spruce Run, President of Hancock County Children’s Council, Director of Parents Anonymous of Maine, and was also instrumental in mobilizing members of the community to confront issues that plague our lives today.  In the late 1970’s, she was instrumental in organizing the Maine Coalition for Family Crisis Services, which during her lifetime became a network of domestic violence projects throughout the state.  Her organizing efforts helped secure legislative funding for women and children in crisis.  She served as a Maine representative to the national “Coalition Against Domestic Violence”, beginning and maintaining an important link to national resources.  Nancy also worked to prevent Child Abuse and Neglect, to promote Peace Activism and in mobilizing communities to confront the issues that plague our lives today.
 
The Hancock County Children’s Council has an extensive collection of books and videotapes on subjects designed to help children and families live healthier lives.  The Family Resource Center Library is available to all residents in Hancock County and is located in the Downeast Health Services building at 52 Christian Ridge Road, Ellsworth, ME.    Please call 667-5304 ext. 261, email children@downeasthealth.org or visit our website at www.downeasthealth.org for additional information on parenting classes, support groups, life skills workshops, child development and family resources available in Hancock County.