While I was in NYC last week I had the opportunity to attend a charity fund raiser held by a great organization called Overcoming Obstacles.

Launched in 1992 by the Jill Chalsty and the  Community for Education Foundation, Overcoming Obstacles is a grassroots program that helps educators teach young people basic “life” skills so often overlooked by the educational system. It has three components: curriculum materials, training and ongoing support. It’s Mission is simple and BIG

Ensure that all young people learn the communication, decision making, and goal setting skills they need to be successful in life.

Inspirational Teens:

This year the organization awarded two scholarships to deserving students and I’m proud to say that one of the scholarships is sponsored by The Founders Affiliate of the American Heart Association on whose Board I serve. I was lucky enough spend the evening with the 2008 scholarship winners, Sammy LaGuerre and Mary Wright. Sammy is an 8th Grader with a natural ability for mentoring and he wants to be a scientist. Mary is a compassionate and passionate high school senior determined to be, get this, a cardiothoracic surgeon. I know these teens will make a difference in the world. And, it all started with Jill Chalsty’s determination to turn a deficit based childhood experience of her own into a motivational asset later in her life.

Andrea Lack (VP-AHA), Mary Wright (Scholarship Recipient),Helaine Baruch (SVP-AHA)

Jill’s Transformational Experience:

In 1989, educational film and television producer Jill Siegal Chalsty’s childhood tormentor apologized to he at their ten-year high school reunion. Sara was a bully in school and made Jill’s life miserable. Jill then met with Sara and learned the reasons for her behavior. Sara then shared that her job was bringing “life skills” instruction to children in detention facilities. She hoped to help kids avoid the pain that she and Jill had suffered.

Jill Found Her Mighty Cause:

Jill then undertook a yearlong research project to better understand the “life skills” gap in the educational system and how best to fill it. Jill went on to gain the support of local and national community leaders – including HUD Secretary Jack Kemp and NFL Hall of Famer John Mackey – and in 1992 launched a nonprofit education reform organization, the Community for Education Foundation.

The Foundation’s vehicle for mission achievement would be the Overcoming Obstacles program and the rest is history. Today, the Overcoming Obstacles curriculum is taught by thousands of educators to hundreds of thousands of students across the country.

ABT Lessons and Inspirations:

It never ceases to amaze me how can people can turn “threats into challenges” and make “passion their power” to change themselves and the world around them for the better. Meeting Jill and seeing firsthand the amazing young people she has touched has inspire me to do all I can help bring the power and promise of Asset-Based Thinking to young people. Kathy and I are very excited about our next book…Change The Way You See Everything - For Teens and we will make sure that we reach out to the great staff at Overcoming Obstacles to make this book and ourselves available to their community and constituencies.

I urge you to do the same. Teens. You gotta love ‘em.

Hank Wasiak