WYLD NEWS!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

Media Contact: Luke Jarvis, Executive Director

July 14th, 2025

Wilkes Youth Life Development Awarded $525,000 Grant from the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation to Support Community-Level Youth Mental Health and Resilience Programs

North Wilkesboro, NC — July 14, 2025 — Wilkes Youth Life Development (WYLD), a nonprofit committed to helping young people grow into healthy, resilient adults, has been awarded a $525,000 grant from the Blue Cross and (Blue Cross NC Foundation). WYLD is one of just eight organizations across the state selected for this funding opportunity, which supports innovative, community-based approaches to youth mental health and resilience.

This grant will support the launch of a new initiative, The WYLD Lands, and the continued growth of WYLD’s existing Youth Resiliency Camps.

The WYLD Lands is an outdoor experiential education program that blends environmental awareness, free play, and skill development. It will be based at Highland Park in North Wilkesboro and is designed to help young people build confidence, explore their identity, and connect with nature. The program will offer scholarships to ensure access for youth regardless of financial circumstances.

“The Town of North Wilkesboro is thrilled to welcome the WYLD Lands Program to Highland Park this summer,” said Mayor Marc Hauser. “The WYLD Lands program will turn our densely forested, riverfront park into a dynamic outdoor classroom. The youth of the community will gain knowledge and experiences that will last a lifetime.”

Dylan Blankley, Interim Town Manager, added, “The WYLD Lands Program will provide a unique outdoor recreation and educational opportunity for the youth of North Wilkesboro and the surrounding community. We are thrilled to host WYLD Lands at Highland Park, showcasing this hidden gem in our parks program while encouraging young people to stay active when school is not in session. This program will be the next step in strengthening the relationship between the Town of North Wilkesboro and Wilkes Youth Life Development.”

Youth Resiliency Camps will also continue as part of the grant. These camps are designed for days when school is out and a child may be home without supervision. Held throughout the community to reduce barriers like transportation, the camps focus on helping youth learn coping strategies, strengthen friendships, and build leadership skills in a welcoming and low-pressure setting.

“We are incredibly grateful to the Blue Cross NC Foundation for recognizing the value of our work and investing in the future of our community’s youth,” said Luke Jarvis, Executive Director of WYLD. “This funding will allow us to continue increasing protective factors for youth in our community. We hope that both The WYLD Lands and the Youth Resiliency Camps help us work toward our mission of developing healthy and resilient youth in our community.”

This grant is part of a statewide effort to support collaborative, youth-centered approaches that foster resilience, life skills, and mental health. The initiative aligns directly with WYLD’s mission, which stands on four pillars: modeling healthy relationships, building positive environments, providing meaningful experiences, and sustaining our work through strong governance and partnerships.

“WYLD’s important work, including this program expansion, is making a meaningful difference in the lives of young people in Wilkes County,” said Colleen Briggs, Blue Cross NC Foundation president. “We hope this grant helps grow their impact as well as elevate awareness of the critical role resilience plays in youth mental health as we look to strengthen community-based approaches to supporting youth across North Carolina.”    

For more information about Wilkes Youth Life Development and its programs, visit wilkesyouth.org or follow us on social media @wilkesyouth.

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

Media Contact: Luke Jarvis, Executive Director

February 9th, 2024

WILKES YOUTH LIFE DEVELOPMENT ATTENDS CADCA’S NATIONAL LEADERSHIP FORUM TRAINING IN WASHINGTON, D.C. TO LEARN NEW SKILLS IN SUBSTANCE USE PREVENTION EFFORTS AND TO SPEAK WITH STATE REPRESENTATIVES

WILKES COUNTY, NC – Representatives from Wilkes County, NC traveled to Washington, D.C with Wilkes Youth Life Development’s Teen Action Council, to join thousands of substance use prevention professionals from around the world for CADCA’s 34th annual National Leadership Forum.

The week-long training, held at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland, taught our youth how to address one of our nation’s biggest public health challenges – drug use. CADCA’s National Leadership Forum covered a wide range of topics – everything from how to prevent prescription drug misuse, create tobacco-free environments, reduce impaired driving and develop policies to reduce marijuana use, synthetic drug use and underage drinking. In addition, youth learned leadership skills that they can carry with them for a lifetime. These youth were also able to sit down with Congresswoman Foxx and a staffer from Senator Budd’s office to discuss what is happening in their community and explain why they need support to help them achieve their mission. Wilkes Youth Life Development’s Teen Action Council attended training sessions as well as an ideas fair and came home inspired and ready to make a difference in our community. 

“Going to the conference gave me an opportunity to connect with other youth who are passionate about the same goals I am and provided me with some guidance on impacting our community.” – Aleena Siddiqi, TAC President

“DC was such an amazing opportunity. Learning about the data and the numbers of how much certain substances are affecting different ages was something that was eye opening. Seeing how many youth care for other youth and wanting to make a difference was inspiring.” – Haleigh Thompson

Wilkes Youth Life Development’s Teen Action Council is a youth led adult guided coalition. Their mission is to give youth a voice, provide youth an outlet and show youth their reason. This coalition focuses on facilitating accessible and open community collaboration between sectors in order to create a well-trained prevention-focused team, and to optimize the amount of youth being served through the coalition. They also focus on engaging youth and families in evidence-based prevention activities to increase the knowledge and preparation of the target population to make substance-free choices. 



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

Media Contact: Luke Jarvis, Executive Director

September, 12th 2023

The Wilkes Teen Action Council

 AWARDED DFC GRANT TO PREVENT YOUTH SUBSTANCE USE 

Moravian Falls, North Carolina – The Wilkes Teen Action Council has received a Drug-Free Communities (DFC) Support Program grant to prevent youth substance use, including prescription drugs, marijuana, tobacco, and alcohol.  The DFC program, created by the DFC Act of 1997 is the Nation’s leading effort to mobilize communities to prevent youth substance use and is directed by the Office of the National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). Grants are provided to community coalitions to strengthen the infrastructure among local partners to create and sustain a reduction in local youth substance use.

“DFC coalitions constitute a critical part of the Nation’s drug prevention infrastructure – they are a catalyst for building capacity at the local level and engaging youth with messaging and resources tailored to their needs and the challenges they face.” said ONDCP Deputy Director Rahul Gupta in his July 2023 Testimony before the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability. “In fact, according to the latest DFC National Cross-Site Evaluation Report, 67 million Americans lived in a community with a DFC coalition and 35,000 people were successfully mobilized to engage in youth substance use prevention and reduction efforts.”

“When TAC started in May 2022 it was very clear we had a group of kids in our community who were ready to make a difference. These kids were determined, focused, and dedicated to supporting their peers in a way that truly mattered. They knew that whether or not they had funding they were going to make an impact. In January 2023 these kids headed to National Harbor, MD right outside of Washington DC where they attended the National Leadership forum, hosted by CADCA. At this forum they had the opportunity to talk with our senators about issues and lack of opportunities in Wilkes County. They were also able to meet with leaders from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) where they learned about the DFC grant. Despite being a new group in the community they knew they wanted to tackle this opportunity. Over the next three months TAC along with the help of their Adult Advisory Committee tackled the DFC grant and submitted it in April 2023. These kids poured everything they had into writing a federal grant, and if you have never written a federal grant let me tell you it is a beast, but on August 29th, 2023 our kids found out that it was all worth it. To say I am proud of our kids is an understatement. Being awarded this grant is a true testament that the youth voice has power. They are our future leaders, and without them having a seat at the table we are not giving them the opportunities that they deserve and we are selling our communities short.” said Luke Jarvis the founding Executive Director of Wilkes Youth Life Development (WYLD).

 The Teen Action Council (TAC) is a youth-led, adult-guided coalition that strives to create youth connections, provide community outreach, and support youth advocacy. TAC youth educate their peers in hopes to prevent substance misuse and mental health challenges. They do this by working together as a team to plan and implement activities. 

TAC accomplishes their mission by giving youth a voice, providing youth an outlet, and showing youth their reason. The coalition will focus on facilitating accessible and open community collaboration between sectors in order to create a well-trained prevention-focused team, and optimize the amount of youth being served through the coalition. The coalition will also focus on engaging youth and families in evidence-based prevention activities to increase the knowledge and preparation of the target population to make substance-free choices.

The DFC funding provides $125,000 per year for up to ten years to our coalition. DFC is a matching grant which means that we have to demonstrate at least $125,000 per year in community support of the project. The Wilkes Teen Action Council aims to pour all $250,000 back into their community to maximize the support available for local youth! This funding will be used to address youth substance use by engaging youth, ages 13-24, in the planning and implementation of strategies and activities. Funding will support youth  to participate in leadership training, positive substance-free activities and more as well as provide parent engagement activities; a small percentage of the funding will be used for staffing. The coalition hopes to increase the capacity in Wilkes to improve social connections for youth, to reduce health disparities, and to reduce the negative impacts of alcohol and marijuana-related consequences in hopes of improving the overall health of our community. 

 

About CADCA

The mission of CADCA (Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America) is to strengthen the capacity of community coalitions to create and maintain safe, healthy and drug-free communities globally.  This is accomplished by providing technical assistance and training, public policy advocacy, media strategies and marketing programs, training and special events. For more information about CADCA, visit www.cadca.org. 

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