Each collaborative agency, by the nature of the people they serve, was familiar with negative attitudes and stereotypes and their effects on the community. Each coalition agency had already developed programs to confront and address these problems effectively.

The Girl Scouts of Singing Sands Council, Inc., as a part of the largest organization for girls in the world, was committed to providing the highest quality programs and opportunities for personal growth to girls ages 5 to 17. Service and leadership development, career exploration, understanding diversity and learning to cope with conflict and contemporary issues continue to be a large part of the Girl Scout agenda today.

The Boy Scouts of America - LaSalle Council has tried to instill values, build self-esteem, prepare youth to make ethical choices over their lifetime, and promote social development through resident summer camps. The primary focus of the Boy Scouts has been the positive development of youth. The Scouts have always been sensitive to rising social problems relating to youth, and have successfully implemented programs which provide earnest attempts to educate and instill in youth a proper response to these problems.

The YMCA of Michiana has also been at the forefront of social change by providing programs and support to all those in need. The YMCA of Michiana has been providing programs and services that meet the health and social service needs of children and families for years. The YMCA continues to be dedicated to influencing the generations by exhibiting values and leadership which represent the principles that they hold in the highest regard.

The independent organizations that came together to form the diversity program for youth have all been successful in helping their respective populations. The collaborative organizations' combined expertise and common goals, to help youth become aware, accept and affirm diversity, were instrumental in the creation of an effective program.

The Executive Director of each agency agreed to meet to discuss ideas for developing a diversity program for students. They invited Mary Pat Hatcher-Disler from the South Bend Community School Corporation to attend the meeting as well.

The coalition developed a set of program objectives, they included the following:

To create a model to be replicated working with a pilot group of students who have the potential for influencing their peers in the area of prejudice reduction.
To enhance the appreciation of each individual's worth through an understanding that strength is in diversity and exclusion of any person or group is a weakness.
To provide a format for discussing prejudice through active, thoughtful participation.
To establish a network to provide necessary support enabling the participants to feel comfortable making right choices.
To reduce the perpetuating of stereotyping and myths related to equity, gender, socio-economic class, religious differences, age, and differing abilities through the dissemination of accurate information.
To sensitize students to others' needs and feelings.
To contribute to a documentable reduction of incidence of racial and sexual harassment and abuse.
To form a coalition of youth serving agencies committed to valuing diversity in the South Bend community.
To enhance leadership skills and provide opportunities to demonstrate.

Members of the coalition initially set out with three specific goals: plan the agenda and logistics for the first session, identify the students to participate, and find funding for the initiative. They not only set goals but seemed to become the implementors of the plan/program as well. This required staff time from each organization.

The program development coalition decided that it would be best to target sixth grade students for a three year program. They believed that sixth grade students are often confronted with diversity issues right before they enter the Middle School level. This program might offer the last, best intervention before they moved on to the next level. Since this would be a pilot program with limited funds they needed to chose only two schools to work with initially. They hoped that once the program was proven successful and obtained increased funding, other schools and more students would be added. They asked SBCSC's Superintendent, Dr. Virginia Calvin, to help decide which schools to target. She recommended Harrison and Kennedy Schools because of their diverse student populations. According to Mary Pat Hatcher-Disler, "Both of these schools have a large numbers of high risk students; they may be economically disadvantaged and have other barriers to address that make them needy."

The coalition took their ideas for a leadership training and diversity awareness program to the principals, teachers and counselors at the schools to get their buy-in and cooperation. Twenty-five students from each of the two schools were chosen by teachers to make up the first group. The coalition specified the students selected should be "natural" leaders, not solely academic achievers. They should be students whom others followed, whose leadership could be channeled toward achieving the elimination or reduction of prejudice among their peers. The teachers assured the coalition that they could identify the appropriate students and promised their support. The first group chosen to participate had gender balance, racial balance and was made up of natural and potential leaders.

Letters were sent to the prospective participants and to their parents requesting their permission to participate in these activities. No parents refused. No student refused the offer to participate, even though it meant giving up a treasured free day. Arrangements were made for students to be picked up by a school bus near their home and delivered to the meeting sites.

The YMCA sponsored a session for other community agency leaders focusing on prejudice reduction. They brought a two person team - a young women who has cerebral palsy and an African-American - who had done work in Fort Wayne schools and at the YMCA, to lead community agency representatives through prejudice reduction activities in the hopes they might decide to learn to become facilitators of prejudice reduction workshops. This same team was used to "kick-off" the first presentation to the fifty students. Kirby Falkenberg, Executive Director of the YMCA of Michiana remembers, "Angie and Spencer were really great facilitators. Angie is Caucasian and handicapped and she was raised in Washington D.C. by an African American family; and Spencer is African American. So they themselves brought a lot of diversity to the group. They were an excellent starting place for the program."

The first session, entitled "Celebrating Diversity" was upbeat and positive. The presenting team kept the students' attention and attempted to involve every student. Teachers from the school accompanied the students to the first session and continued to do so throughout the school year. The principals and guidance counselors attended portions of the sessions, as well. All five (5) agencies were represented at the sessions. Students were energized and were building diversity awareness.

A short follow-up session was held (during school hours) with those students from the two (2) schools. (All five (5) agencies participated). Through some interactive group activities students identified the values they believed were most important for them; they moved forward in their mission to provide positive, peer leadership toward reducing prejudice and developing tolerance for an appreciation of diversity.

At the second session, entitled "I Know I'm Somebody," students identified values they consider important: respect, honesty, responsibility, cooperation, control, fairness, hope, self discipline, diversity, and faith. The identified values were the driving force behind the students selecting a name for their group and a pledge (mission) for membership. The group had become known as HEROES: Honest, Educated, Responsible, Obedient, Energetic, Students. Their pledge:

I promise that I will respect, love and cherish all people, especially HEROES, throughout the world. I will also respect our environment. I shall try to my utmost ability to uphold these ten values at school and in any community.

Some middle school and high school Girl Scouts students served as facilitators for small group discussions and as helpers to lead presenters of the day's program at the second workshop. They were excellent role models and were close enough in age to "talk the students' language." It was beneficial for the adolescent helpers to assume leadership and responsibility in guiding their younger peers toward acceptance of diversity.

The third session/workshop, entitled "I Want to Be a Mirror...A Reflection of YOU," was held at the YMCA in the spring of 1994. This workshop featured adult role models, most of whom were parents, who shared with students the problems of growing up as a minority community member and the hopes and dreams they have for today's youth.

In the late spring of 1994, an evaluation meeting was held with all stakeholders represented. Students, teachers, principals, counselors, and all five (5) community agencies were in attendance. Students expressed great pride in being selected to be a member of the HEROES and they were pleased to learn the program would be continued next school year.

All three (3) workshops were held at sites that promote and serve as educationally diverse centers, such as, churches, synagogues, universities, etc. and, that some HEROES participants had not previously experienced, enhancing their view of appreciating diversity and keeping students with high expectations and hopes for their future.

A picnic was held in early August, prior to the start of school in an effort to keep in touch with the HEROES. Participants and their families attended the picnic and were very supportive of the HEROES initiative and its purpose. Group A HEROES participants were anxious to begin Year Two (8th Grade).

The coalition members worked hard to ensure continued growth and development of the HEROES program throughout the first year. Ed Smitana, Boy Scouts Executive Director, recalls that, "The Executive Directors of each agency really came together to form the program. We were each able to provide input specific to our own knowledge and experience working with children." This knowledge and experience helped the coalition plan for Year 2 and Year 3 of the HEROES program.

HEROES Year Two (7th Graders) focused on acceptance of diversity and peaceful schools, and included workshops with discussions about such topics as: privilege and power, gender equity, dealing with violence and anger, sexuality, family structure, and discrimination. Year Two introduced participants to a community service project, job shadowing and HEROES retreat.

Year Three (8th Graders) focused on affirmation of diversity, and involved workshops that included skills training on such topics as: leadership skills, listening skills, communication skills, organizational skills, and assertiveness training. During Year Three the coalition wanted students to involve themselves in a community service projects, however, that did not come to fruition. According to Kirby Falkenberg, "the students, at this point in their development, were just too focused on themselves. They could not initiate a community service involvement - we may have been unrealistic to think that this would happen."

The HEROES program has had two groups of approximately fifty (50) students completed the program (Group A in 1996 and Group B in 1997). In the fall of 1997 the coalition started its third group of fifty (50) sixth grade students (they will complete the program in the spring of 1999). The Coalition was unable to start Group C in the fall of 1996 because of their own individual organization work load. Kirby Falkenberg recalls, "We were all so busy with organizational demands that we were not able to start a group of sixth graders in the fall of 1996. We were able to get things back on track this fall however."

Organizers did not want to skip the 1996 group and would like to be able to add more schools and students to the program. Because of other agency-related demands on staff and the lack of funding, organizers have been unable to bring this about. According to Connie Moore, YMCA staff member and HEROES program implementor, "If we had a staff position dedicated to the HEROES program we probably wouldn't have had to skip the HEROES programming in the fall of 1996. We really need to find funding for a dedicated staff person."

With limited funds the HEROES program has been unable to grow as was initially anticipated. Since the program began the SBCSC has helped financially by providing substitute teachers and transportation. The HEROES organizers applied for funding and received a $5,000.00 grant from the Bowsher-Booher Foundation in 1994. These funds were used to pay for facilitators and other programmatic expenses and has helped keep the program running. Several other community organizations, including Indiana University South Bend and Temple Bethel donated meeting places. The HEROES Initiative has truly been a collaborative effort.

In order for the HEROES program to grow, organizers want to hire a full-time staff person to: act as a program coordinator; provide student follow-up; create and implement an evaluation component; and maintain records. The evaluation component is a critical element that has yet to be developed. It will measure the level of success of the HEROES program and determine if performance standards have been met. The staff person will also develop and administer pre and post surveys. The surveys will provide both qualitative and quantitative analysis. South Bend Community School Corporation teachers, who identified student participants, will also be surveyed to determine the effect that the HEROES Initiative has on classroom interaction and student behavior.

According to coalition members, the potential numbers of students affected is expected to increase substantially as the HEROES Initiative is further developed and administered throughout the South Bend Community School Corporation. The HEROES Initiative is expected to affect a larger number of students each year as it moves into other elementary and middle schools within the SBCSC.

The program has been deemed successful by those who have participated in it as student HEROES, teachers, guidance counselors, and agency administrators and staff.

According to Vernell Thompson, Girls Scout staff member, "It has been evident, from the students' feedback, that the program has had an impact. During a celebration ceremony at the Marriott Hotel, HEROES Group A gave testimonials about the program that filled us all with pride and a sense of accomplishment."