The Ryan Project

The first Teen Night in Little Elm held at Colin Powell Intermediate School turned out to be a rousing success if you were to ask any of the small group of teens who were there.  A Team of Ryan Project and YMCA volunteers made it happen on April 17th.

As they came through the door, the students showed their school ID and paid their admission fee of $5.00 (if they had on a Ryan Project T-shirt, it was $4.00) and had their hand stamped.  Each was asked if they would fill out a survey card and return it before leaving. They could also buy tickets to spend for Domino’s pizza, candy, or drinks and free cookies donated by Albertsons.
 
The YMCA volunteers had decorated in The Ryan Project colors of red, black, and white with table cloths and balloons.  Silver stars and hearts covered tables and hung at the doorway to the cafeteria where the lights were dimmed, the DJ played and colored lights danced around the room.  

In the gym, with basketballs available, the boys and girls started shooting before the DJ had even got started.  In a short while, teams were formed and a tournament began in earnest, even with a lot of laughter interspersed.

The dancing in earnest began as the kids started drifting into the cafeteria area where the DJ had their favorite music playing.  He took requests for anything they wanted to hear and the YMCA guys and gal got things going with some line dances, a Thriller rendition, and some other funky stuff.

 
When the dancing slowed down and the night waned, there began a drawing for some very nice prizes:
The first door prize drawing for a $15 iTunes Gift Card was won by Michael Blanchette.  The next door prize won by Zach Stinson was a home speaker for an iPhone.  The third drawing was drawn from the Survey Cards turned in by the students.  Zach “Cookie” Cook won an iPod when his card was pulled.  Another door prize was drawn and that also was won by Zach Cook: a $15 iTunes Gift Card.  Bryan Heidrick was the winner of a 3-month Family Membership to the YMCA.

 Our young people need a place to “hang out” on weekends and we are very grateful that The Ryan Project in partnership with the YMCA was able to provide a fun and safe place.  The Tower Team of American Airlines sponsored our first party.  If you or your company or organization would like to sponsor our next teen night in May, please contact us!

  Normal 0 0 1 55 317 Look Hawaii 2 1 389 11.0 0 0 0 We will be considering the teens’ input in planning our future parties.  There were suggestions of a luau at the beach and a barbecue at the YMCA campsite.  The two organizations will put their heads together to come up with the next outing.  We would still like to have a member of one of our great Metro sports clubs to attend as a guest to speak to the kids and sign autographs. 



We are still in great need of PEOPLE. We need people willing to work in Fundraising, Marketing, and Security.  We will also need sponsors for each night in the future as well as general volunteers, chaperones, etc. If you would like to help us, please contact Joan. 

*A background check is required for all chaperones.

We will be happy to accept donations of items that we might raffle off, door prizes, and prizes for winning teams as well as monetary donations to help defray costs.

This was a video that WFAA took for their newscast, covering our public launch event. Transcribed below is the news article written by Joe Simnacher, published by the Dallas Morning-News.

LITTLE ELM – The day after he was to graduate from high school, Ryan Cook was honored with a program launched in hope of preventing another preventable, senseless death.

A crowd huddled in the shade of a picnic pavilion Saturday at Little Elm Park, seeking relief from both the biting sun and the realization that this southern Denton County town was no longer immune to concerns of much larger communities.

In January, 17-year-old Ryan was found shot to death in his blue Honda. In April, a 16-year-old Little Elm resident pleaded guilty to the homicide, admitting he shot the teen in the back of the head. He gave no motive for his actions, but gang initiation rites are suspected. The 16-year-old is now serving a 40-year prison sentence.

On Saturday, Little Elm residents were looking forward to the promise of prevention through The Ryan Project.

"I never realized how many teens were in trouble in Little Elm until Ryan was killed, that we have a problem," said his father, Mike Cook. "It's not a problem that's going away without some help."

The Little Elm Ministerial Alliance, a group of community leaders, established the project. The group initially hopes to heighten awareness among parents and teens, said Lisa Ashmore, superintendent of The Education Center Charter Schools in Denton County, including the high school where Ryan was a senior.

"First of all we want to empower parents, because we know both sets of parents were not aware of the situations that were going on in the community and with the teens in the community," Ashmore said. "Some of them are aware of what's going on, but they don't have the resources to seek the help."

The group has already cataloged and publicized information on Denton County programs that are available and is also working to bring others to Little Elm, Ashmore said.

"Everything from homeless shelters and food banks to drug awareness programs," Ashmore said.

The Ryan Project also aims to make parents aware of their rights and responsibilities, while creating a structure of teen activities in Little Elm, which has mushroomed from a rural town on the shores of Lewisville Lake into a bustling suburban community.

Cook was shocked to learn that there were homeless teens in Little Elm.

"We've got kids who are supporting themselves; they live from house to house," Cook said. "Hopefully this will give those kids somewhere to go and get help."

The project will work to use existing facilities for structured activities until approved bond money builds a recreation center, Cook said.

"By the time everything gets done, we will lose a generation of teenagers," Cook said.

Too many parents rely on law enforcement and the hope that the juvenile justice system will solve underlying problems, Cook said.

"That's been the remedy for kids who have gotten in trouble here – 'We'll just let the police be our keeper,' " Cook said. "Unfortunately, they come back to the same thing and there is nothing to go back to."

The Ryan Project has raised nearly the $1,400 it needs to send members to The Parent Project, so that they can teach others, Ashmore said.