Positive Action Wins Success (PAWS) Club is a fun and safe place for 3rd–5th grade students after school on Wednesdays. Better yet, it has a component of intentional education that supports One Prevention Alliance’s goal of increasing the number of healthy choices students make as they grow and develop into teens.

The PAWS Club currently has 20 members, and most are students from Carson Elementary School (CES), located in Skamania County. Two club members are part of local homeschool programs.

At each meeting, students enjoy free-choice time, such as building with Legos, painting, or modeling with playdough. Each meeting also always features a Positive Action lesson. These 15 minute lessons help students have a positive outlook, react positively with others, and help them learn to make positive choices in their lives. The third component of a PAWS meeting is an organized activity, such as an art project, a community service project, a mini-lesson, or a cooperative game.

PAWS Club is a collaboration between three local nonprofit agencies and dedicated community volunteers, sharing their gifts and talents. This combination of programs allows for more students to be enrolled and provides another adult to assist in planning and supervision. The lead agency is One Prevention Alliance (OPA). OPA provides two staff members to organize and plan club activities and purchased the evidenced-based curriculum, Positive Action. Skamania County Recreation and Events provides one staff member and has rolled their monthly “Craft Camp” into PAWS Club. The Stevenson-Carson School District has graciously allowed our “club house” to be located in a classroom at Stevenson High School (SHS)
each week. The school district also provides transportation for students from CES to SHS each week.

The program is completely free for families; there are no enrollment or ongoing fees. Families have been encouraged, but are not required, to provide a box of snacks from
an Amazon Wish List.

Community volunteers provide our youth with a very rich club experience. In October, local artist Marilyn Bolles came to provide a lesson in watercolor painting. Also in October, JoAnne and Joy Birkenfeld taught the students to make paper patriotic wreaths. In November, Anthony Winstead, a veteran who previously served in the U.S. Navy and who currently serves as the IT Director for
SCSD, shared with the club members about his time in the military, and what it is like to have his son currently serving in the military. The students learned about Veterans Day and created gratitude cards to be disturbed within the community.

The club is looking for other volunteer “experts”. The students are interested in learning about winter birds, baking, any type of art media, and other kid-friendly topics. If you would like to get involved with the PAWS Club by volunteering or making a donation of craft materials or snacks, please reach out to Karen Douglass by emailing her at karen.douglass@esd112.org, or by calling 360-952- 3330.

Learn more about the Positive Action curriculum at www.positiveaction.net

Written by:  Karen Douglass, OPA Coalition Coordinator