Trekkers Training Institute Open House

Thomaston, ME, May 31, 2018 – Trekkers is launching an innovative training series for community mentors and youth development practitioners via the Trekkers Training Institute (TTI). Based on the organization’s quarter-century of success in the field of youth development, TTI trainings will share the best practices and critical philosophies that have led to Trekkers’ astounding youth retention rate that hovers close to 85% for students who start the program in 7th grade and complete the program in 12th grade.

To learn more about TTI and the current and future training opportunities available, the community is invited to a celebratory open house on Friday, June 15th from 5pm-7pm at the Steel House South building, located at 639 Main Street in Rockland. At 6 p.m., TTI Director Meredith Lynt will provide a brief presentation on why the Institute was developed, discuss its early successes, and provide an overview of all training opportunities available.

The schedule for Trekkers’ free training series is as follows:

Mentor Series

• Why Relationships Matter, Tuesday, July 17, 1-4pm
• Earning the Right to Be Heard with Teens, Tuesday, August 21, 1-4pm
• Embracing a Strengths-Based Approach, Tuesday, September 25

Practitioner Series

• Going Beyond One and Done Programming, Thursday, July 26, 1-4pm
• Engaging Youth Through the Middle School to High School Transition, Thursday, August 23, 1-4pm
• Not Going It Alone: Mapping Community Resources, Thursday, September 27, 1-4pm
  • Currently in Development for Fall 2018
    Behavior Management & Boundary Setting
    Vulnerability & Shared Experiences
    Taking Care of Yourself So You Can Take Care of Others
    Modeling Self-Awareness and Self-Care for Youth

Trainings will take place at the Steel House South building in Rockland and interested participants can register for one or all of the trainings at trekkersinstitute.org. While there are no prerequisites to participate, the Mentor Series is geared towards anyone who considers themselves a mentor, whether formally or informally, while the Practitioner Series is geared towards professionals working directly or indirectly in the field of education, mentoring and/or youth development. Registration is limited to 15 participants per session on a first come, first served basis.

These trainings are the first open enrollment opportunities offered by TTI and are made possible through a continued partnership with the Portland-based Emanuel & Pauline A. Lerner Foundation. Trekkers began its partnership with the Lerner Foundation in the fall of 2016 as part of the Foundation’s Aspirations Incubator Program (AIP). In addition to funding the development of TTI, the Foundation selected eight organizations from across Maine that received training in Trekkers’ Youth Programming Principles during an experiential, three-month intensive training pilot during the summer of 2017. All eight organizations are currently implementing Trekkers’ Youth Programming Principles through youth programs in their home communities.

For more information about the Trekkers Training Institute, please visit trekkersinstitute.org or contact Meredith Lynt at meredith@trekkers.org.

For more information about the Lerner Foundation, the Aspirations Incubator Program, and its partner organizations, please visit lernerfoundation.com or contact Caitlin Gilmet at caitlin@lernerfoundation.com.