f.+Mentors+Make+A+Difference+Conference

As part of the Helping Boys Become Healthy Men regional component we held a series of events to celebrate the projects, inform community stakeholders and work towards sustainability.

Local events were held in the project communities of Castlegar, Nelson and Kaslo. The goals of these events were to recognize and celebrate the projects and the volunteers involved and time time to network and discuss the concept of mentorship in our region.

The second in our series was the **Regional Mentors Make a Difference Conference** held **April 12, 2012.** This one day event showcased the 5 local projects, and had Jim Conway from the Search Institute as the keynote presenter. The day wrapped up with Gary Ockenden, Community Engagement Director at Columbia Basin Trust, facilitating a "Where Do We Go From Here" session with conference participants. View this short video of excerpts of Jim Conway's keynote on the importance of developmental assets in the lives of children and youth.

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View the conference program here: Conference poster:

Download the synopsis or scroll down to read it on this page.

To wrap up the event series, "next steps" meetings will held in most communities supporting Helping Boys Become Healthy Men projects. These events will build on the conversations started at the regional conference. The meetings will focus primarily on sustainability of the local projects. The event schedule is as follows: Kaslo: May 30th at the Kaslo Seniors Hall, 5:30 - 7:15 pm Castlegar: early June, details TBA Nelson: June 14th, 4-5pm, location TBA

The Boundary Area held a meeting April 24th. For information about what came out of the meeting, please contact Boundary Coordinator Barry Pratt at Barry.Pratt@bfiss.org The Trail Project is not have a "next steps" meeting. For information about the future of the Trail project please contact Trail Coordinator Naomi Bain at childrenssupport2@trailfair.ca