What is the COFY Coalition?
Have you ever heard of COFY? Maybe, maybe not? Do you know what a community coalition is? Did you know that there are numerous agencies/volunteers right here in Mercer County that provide services to youth and their families to help them become responsible, caring individuals?
We're willing to bet that you may know our organizations, but you don't know that we all fit into a growing list of people that want to help youth right here in our community.
The Creating Opportunities For Youth coalition, or COFY as it is known, was originally named the Safe and Structured Places Committee and was formed after the America's Promise Initiative began in 1997. This dedicated group of service providers, community/business/church/school leaders, and youth worked hard to create a strategy to address the problem behaviors plaguing our children and youth in the community. COFY meets monthly and has done so since its inception. The coalition has grown significantly over the past two years and has continually modified itself to meet the growing needs of our members. As years went on, we have pulled in additional community leaders and even members of the local media to help increase coverage for all partners. COFY continues to strive for membership diversity and retention of active leaders.
Whether or not you are actively involved with COFY, we want you to know that there is an organization that is working hard to promote healthy, enjoyable, competent lifestyles for OUR YOUTH in OUR COMMUNITY!
Our organizations work together to help share the good word about the things we do. It also helps avoid duplication of effort when we look to providing programming for this community.
If your organization would like to help our agencies or if you are interested in joining this coalition and getting updates by email, please email us at cofy@ccifrn.org or give us a call at (304) 323-3472 and we will promptly add you to our growing list of partners within our community.
There are many things we can do for Mercer County and the surrounding area, but it takes collaboration and people at the table to make it work.
