Whitefish honored for youth work

The Daily Inter Lake

Whitefish has been named one of the 100 Best Communities for Young People by America's Promise - Alliance for Youth and will receive a $100,000 grant to develop youth programs.

Whitefish was selected for the work that the Whitefish Community Center project has accomplished with support from Whitefish CARE in the development of asset-building programs for youth that include after-school programs, teen activities, and the Healthy Youth Healthy Communities initiative.

The national competition, sponsored by America's Promise and Capital One, honors communities, both small towns and urban neighborhoods, for their commitment to provide healthy, safe and caring environments for young people.

Hundreds of communities in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands took part in the competition.

The selection panel evaluated "100 Best" entries that required detailed information about each community's efforts to fulfill the fundamental resources children and youth need to succeed.

Missoula was the only other Montana city chosen for the award.

"We are of course very honored to receive this award after years of hard work in creating healthy and sustainable programs for youth in the community," Whitefish Community Center Executive Director Laura Blankenship said in a prepared statement.

Blankenship, who applied for the competition and grant, recently was promoted to the position of executive director; she previously served as director of CARE.

"It's very encouraging to have the support of groups such as America's Promise and Capital One to further assist in the development of a stand-alone facility that will provide affordable programs for youth, families and individuals in Whitefish," Blankenship said.

Whitefish Community Center, based at the Roy Duff Memorial Armory, has developed partnerships with PTA, CARE, the Whitefish School District and other organizations.

Retired Gen. Colin Powell is the founding chairman of America's Promise.

"When a community provides all that its young people need to be healthy and secure, they deserve to be honored and showcased as an outstanding example of what it takes to successfully nurture this nation's young people," Powell said in a press release.