A new handbook that can be used as a road map for island youth looking to make a difference in the community is now available at the Bainbridge Public Library and other locations across Bainbridge.

The free booklet, “Resource Guide for Bainbridge Island Teens and Tweens,” was inspired by feedback from Bainbridge youth who participated in the three Healthy Youth Summits held in 2013 and 2014.

The meetings focused on how the community could help them develop and grow, and how they, in turn, could give something back to their community.

Summit organizers said the feedback was clear:

• Bainbridge youth want to be heard and valued as part of the community; to be listened to and have their voices heard;

• They want to be seen as who they are and not seen through the lens of their parents’ and communities’ aspirations;

• They want guidance to search for and discover what “gets them going” and in “finding their passion.”

The handbook project was led by Rebecca Judd of the Bainbridge Public Library and Shannon Buxton from the Bainbridge Island Metropolitan Park & Recreation District. Volunteers from the youth summits contacted all the nonprofits on the island to discover what work and volunteering opportunities existed for youth, and the new handbook details each nonprofit and what they do.

Free copies of the resource guide are available in hard copy at the Bainbridge Public Library and Bainbridge Youth Services.

Hard copies were made possible by the Rotary Club of Bainbridge Island. The guide is also available online at www.bainbridgeyouthservices.org (under the Youth Job drop-down menu).