Teen Assist card more 'user-friendly'

For the seventh time, the credit card-sized Teen Assist card, which holds a directory of hotlines for teens, has been updated by the Conejo/Las Virgenes Future Foundation.

Executive Director Fran Brough called the card "userfriendly" for teens. The updated version, which features phone numbers for such resources as AIDS information; alcohol, drug and child abuse; crisis counseling; suicide prevention; and rape, has more than just updated phone numbers. A volunteer opportunity section has been added to the card, Brough said.

The cards have been delivered to Conejo Valley schools, healthcare agencies, teen centers, libraries and other locations where teens gather, Brough said.

"We want to get them out there where they are well used," she said.

Students created the Teen Assist card during the foundation's Youth Congress XI in 1995. Youth Congress is one of the foundation's annual events. It brings students from area high schools together to explore an idea or create a movement or product to benefit the community. This year, students studied politics. Nutrition and volunteerism are among the topics that have been researched in previous years.

The original Teen Assist card entries were assembled by a committee of foundation trustees and high school students. Entries on the card are verified, and new entries are added or updated on even-numbered years, Brough said. The addition of volunteer opportunities was in response to the Youth Congress focus in 2006, she said.

Drew Cartwright of Barry Ridge Graphic Design provided the new design of the cards as a community service project this year, according to Brough.

"Each revision brings with it the challenge of presenting a lot of information in a very small space in a format appealing to the young population," Brough said.

Conejo/Las Virgenes Future Foundation is a regional think tank whose board of trustees comprises community leaders planning for the future. During its 36-year history it has "planted the seeds," Brough said, that have led to projects such as the unification of the Conejo school district and the building of the Civic Arts Plaza and a teen center. The foundation is now studying the housing of the visual arts in the area.

For a list of projects, visit www.clvff.org. To receive a Teen Assist card, call the foundation office at (818) 880-1054.