A character-building program that reaches better than eight in every ten Iowa children is getting a boost this week. Scott Raecker, executive director of the Institute for Character Development, says this is national Character Counts Week and events in Iowa are zeroing in on the program’s many benefits.
Raecker says “All across the state in communities and school districts, youth and adults are focusing on the Character Counts initiative which is founded in six pillars of character: trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and citizenship, and using those pillars in our daily life in the way we make decisions and the way we treat other people.” He says the kickoff was held Sunday in Des Moines with other events planned across Iowa this week.
Raecker says to check out the website “www.iowacharacter.org” for information on other activities that can be done at school, at home or in businesses to focus on doing the right thing every day. He says the Iowa-based grocery chain Hy-Vee is offering colorful Character Counts dog tags as rewards for kids for three-dollars each.
Raecker says the dog tags are a great awareness initiative that kids like to put on their backpacks or keychains. He says the media often focuses on people who are making poor choices in their lives but this is a nice way to recognize young people who make the right choices. Raecker says in the past ten years, the Character Counts program has reached students in 800 locations across the state. He says about 83-percent of Iowa students are involved in the program at some level, or about 400-thousand children and teens.
Related web sites:
Character Counts website