Sara Weeks

The Character Connection Initiative and two of its students recently presented at the United Nations’ 55th Commission for Social Development: Promoting Mental Health and Well-Being for Youth.

Founder Justin Rivers and students Jalene Rivera (Waltersville School, Bridgeport, CT) and Luis Adames (St. Thomas Aquinas, Bronx, NY) spoke about the impact of Character Connection’s program, including the use of mindfulness in its curriculum.

Said Adames, “Since beginning TCCI, I have learned so much about myself. I am more open and honest about my feelings. This magnificent program has not only helped me learn about myself but I have also learned about my friends. It has helped me to understand the type of people I need to surround myself with in order to be successful. This program needs to grow so other students can learn to understand themselves, be their best, and care and connect with others.”

(Photos Courtesy of Jessra Photos)

dsc_5356-copy The past year has been an exciting one! The Character Connection Initiative has launched and introduced its programs in select pilot classrooms. We are poised for rapid, scalable growth and anticipate a broader rollout in fall 2016. We are thrilled to partner with Fordham University’s Applied Psychology department to measure the efficacy of our programs.

The need for character education in schools is tremendous, and the response to our programs from students and educators is overwhelmingly positive.

My nearly two decades of experience developing and teaching character education, combined with insights from other thought leaders in the field has made our programs doubly impactful. Character Connection distinguishes itself among character programs by

Working directly with our partner schools;

Grounding students in a sense of mindfulness, providing a framework for lasting change; and

Including parents as active participants in our programs.

I look forward to updating you regularly through our website and social media. I also encourage you to reach out to me, our executive director, or any of our board members to learn more about our programs, our organization and how you can support us in our mission.

Please join us in providing students the tools to overcome obstacles and realize their potential in school and beyond or, as we say at the Character Connection, to ”Be your best, from the inside, out.”

Best,
Justin Rivers
Founding Program Director

Author: Sara Weeks

Character Connection at the United Nations

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