Lane County Youth Services

Lane County Juvenile Justice Center (Serbu)

Eugene, Oregon

May 11, 2005

To Whom It May Concern:

I am writing this letter to share an experience I had with Encore Theatre during spring break of 2005. My name is Dan Cole and I am a group-worker for the Lane County Juvenile Department.

I had the opportunity to supervise a group of twelve youth who spent a week working with the Encore theater group in our facility. The group of youth who were chosen to work with Encore ranged in age from fourteen to seventeen years of age.

I have worked with this population of youth for almost fifteen years and have seen a lot during that period of time. I have participated in, or observed many activities that were designed to help our kids grow into successful adults.

My experience with Encore was wonderful, and the positive impact on the kids was truly incredible. The most amazing parts of the production were the relationships that the kids developed with Encore members. The wisdom, caring and love the seniors brought to these kids was priceless. As the week wore on and relationships developed, I began seeing a part of the kids I had not seen before in this environment. The kids opened up to their senior partners, and for a brief moment it seemed that they forget where they were and let their guards down. I saw a lot more smiles, kids acting like kids, and some of their problem behaviors seemed to melt away, at least for a while.

All of the youth who were involved in the production had a chance to show the community what they can do in a forum that was new to them. To say the kids enjoyed their success would be understated. It was a lot of hard work for the kids, and for some kids it very well may have been one of their greatest accomplishments in recent history.

The kids who took part in the production still talk about it to this day, and I truly believe some of them will never forget their experience and the relationships they developed.

Encore Theatre is a wonderful group of people who make a huge impact on youth; their dedication, hard work and experience are awe-inspiring. Encore is very impressive, and it provides a positive and effective experience for at risk youth. I hope they will come back to our facility and also have the chance to impact youth in other settings. Special thanks go to Eliza Roaring Springs and her dedication to helping our kids. Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dan Cole

Lane County Youth Services