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 Jeff Yalden is the keynote speaker for The Search Institute 2008 Healthy Communities * Healthy Youth Annual Conference in Minneapolis, MN. Visit The Search Institute for more information. |
| Jeff visits Charleston, West Virginia |
| Jeff visits Clio, MI |
| Jeff appears on MTV's MADE television program |
| Radio spot about Jeff's MTV appearance |
| Jeff helps save a students life |
| Jeff releases book: They Call Me Coach |
| Jeff introduces new wristbands: Take Time To Think |
| Jeff visits Meridian High School |
| Jeff visits Grand Blanc Middle School |
| Jeff visits Hopkinton, MA Middle & High School Students |
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MTV coach motivates Raze teens |
| By Davin White | The Charleston Gazette |
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 Jeff Yalden shared funny and poignant stories about his own teenage daughters Sunday to get his message across to teens at the Raze On 2008! camp at the University of Charleston.
An energetic speaker, Yalden told students in one breath that his kindergarten teacher's makeup made her look like "Shrek and frickin' Barney."
"You know what she did?" he asked next. "She gave me value."
Students involved in anti-tobacco programs across several West Virginia schools are joined together for a three-day Raze conference, which began Sunday.
Some time ago, Yalden's teen daughter cried on her bed because a boyfriend broke up with her. At first he tried to comfort her, and he told her that love is an emotion that means nothing without commitment.
As the conversation evolved, Yalden caught himself saying, "You know what I love? I love doughnuts."
"That didn't go over too well," he said.
To draw his audience in, Yalden joked about "The Miracle of Life," teen films like "Superbad," Helen Keller, and, most incessantly, his family. Full News Article |
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Reality TV host inspires teens with message of self-respect |
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| By Shena Abercrombie | The Flint Journal |
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 CLIO -- MTV reality TV star Jeff Yalden received the rock star treatment when he walked across the Clio Auditorium stage Friday to a roaring ovation.
It was a good sign considering his challenge -- entertaining and inspiring about 300 teens, who were hopped up on school spirit during an assembly, with a pep rally.
Yalden, who gained fame as host of "MADE," in which hopeful teens are equipped with a life coach and the tools to pursue their dreams, was the guest speaker at the school's first Leadership Day.
Dressed casually in jeans, a light-blue cotton shirt and brown loafers, the 36-year-old former Marine with the East Coast accent regaled the audience with a 60-minute speech that was part shtick, part lecture and part motivation.
His two main themes -- "be responsible" and "take time to think."
"I liked that he was funny and he taught you," said ninth-grader Sarah Pollard.
Yalden shared stories from his own life, including what it's like to be a father of two teenage girls.
There was the time his oldest daughter went on a $900 shopping spree, or when his youngest brought her boyfriend home to meet him and the young man greeted him by saying "Sup?" -- short for "what's up?"
He revealed his own challenges, such as learning strength from his wife, who survived thyroid cancer last year -- and what it was like to grow up in a home with an alcoholic father who kicked him out on the night of his high school graduation.
"Anger is like pee in your pants -- everybody can see it but only you feel it, so don't be angry," he said. "Every day you have to fill your cup. Be responsible for your school, your attitude, the influences in your life. Fill your cup with self-respect."
He also urged students to be responsible for the way they represent themselves. Full News Article |
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Jeff appears on MTV's MADE television program |
 To all my friends, family, and fans - THANK YOU for watching the show. I appreciated all your emails and phone calls. Please stay tuned to watch more shows in the coming weeks and months.
I am grateful that so many people watched and the overwhelmingly positive response I have received. I'd also like to point out that Alyssa is doing great. She is currently in Tempe, AZ and following her dreams and passion. We talk almost daily and I continue to be a positive influence in her life. She is a special girl that I care for greatly.
Recently, Jeff was on MTV MADE and will appear numerous times throughout November and December on the comedian show as the "Life Coach". Jeff signed a contract with MTV MADE and hopes that the possibilities are endless for future shows. We'll see . . . |
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Jeff on the Radio |
| Listen now as some radio DJs discuss Jeff's appearance on MTV's MADE |
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Jeff helps save a students life |
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02/21/2006
Help follows speech, student's e-mail |
| Kelly Nankervis, Midland Daily News |
 Not always do the words of guest speakers stick with the students who hear them. For Erin Dush, a few select words made all the difference.
After cancer took her father, the then 15-year-old Meridian High School student didn't want to burden her mother or sister with her problems, and felt distanced from her friends by her experiences.
"It was a time of maturing for me that separated me from my friends," she said.
The speaker's definition of suicide as "a permanent fix to a temporary problem," stuck with her. Dush said she kept thinking, "But my problem isn't temporary."
"I wasn't really angry ... kind of more scared because I didn't know what to do," she said, adding her dad would edit papers for her, or the pair would go for walks in the woods. "For a lot of weeks afterwards, it was like, 'I need to tell dad about that,' then, 'Whoops, can't do that.'"
Not knowing what else to do, Dush started writing -- not unusual for her since she keeps journals. And she followed the lead of her father, who wrote letters for her, her sister and her mother to be read at special occasions.
In sections of her letters, she wrote that if her death was her doing, it wasn't to hurt anyone, but because she was tired. They also were to double as goodbyes in case of anything else, such as if a car accident ended her life, she said.
"I think the letters were kind of my way of just getting my thoughts together."
Her last letter was typed on the website of the speaker who had come to the school, Jeff Yalden. She said she didn't mean to send it but did with a stroke of the return key. In that letter, Dush introduced herself, telling him she was a good student, active in student organizations and sports, with many friends to whom she felt she just couldn't talk.
Yalden took action when he saw that e-mail. He contacted the Midland Area Community Foundation, which had brought him to Midland County schools, and Dush was tracked down through clues in her letter. Her mother was notified, and took her daughter to professionals.
She said she never had a plan to end her life, and realized how much she would hurt her family if she did.
"Losing him," she said of her father, "made me realize how much I cared about the other people in my life. I think I kinda scared her," Dush said of her mother.
Her advice to others is simple.
"Don't let it get too built up. You need to find someone to talk to or have an outlet." |
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Jeff releases book: They Call Me Coach |
 This book was inspired as a result of Jeff working with MTV's MADE. Five weeks working with one eighteen year old and a lot of time to think and reflect. This book is the capitulation of years of work with youth and one special eighteen year old that touched his heart.
This book covers everything that youth need to know to be a step ahead of their peers. From what to do today to what to prepare for in the real world, this book promises to answer the most commonly asked questions youth face today and tomorrow. |
 Order Now |
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Jeff introduces new wristbands: Take Time To Think |
 TAKE TIME TO THINK wristbands are supporting character education programs throughout the country to middle schools and high schools. |
| Order Now |
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Jeff visits Meridian High School |
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| Kelly Nankervis, Midland Daily News |
 Jeff Yalden had another chance with the students at Meridian High on Monday afternoon, later saying he's not about making a difference with everyone but about making sense.
His talk, part of the Week of Nonviolence, didn't leave any room for confusion. Using stories from his life, he carefully and emphatically spelled out his rules for life.
Number one is do what's right, he said, telling the students that life isn't as complicated as teens tend to make it.
"There's right, there's wrong, there's no in between," he told them. Rather than spell out for the students what he meant, he told them numerous times, "You're smart people," leaving it to them to think about.
"It's hard to get young people to understand the difference between reputation and character," he said, adding good role models aren't people like Britney Spears and Paris Hilton.
Rule number two is do the best you can, and he explained that doesn't mean to be perfect but to strive to be perfect.
He filled a cup with water, and told the students that his mother says everyone was born with the same cup. "Some of you are missing what's been put in your cup," he said.
After asking a boy if he thought it would be funny if he dumped the cup of water on a girl, and the boy answered no, Yalden told the students the third rule.
"Treat other people the way you want other people to treat you," he said, congratulating the boy for being the only person ever to answer the water question with a "no."
"When you see something that's not right, stand up and help, reach out," he said.
Yalden also took a moment with the students to reinforce the theme of this year's nonviolence week by telling the students to call the "Speak up" tip line number -- 1-800-815-TIPS -- when they see serious problems that need to be addressed.
The Week of Nonviolence is coordinated by the Gang and Violence Prevention Partnership, a project of the Midland Area Community Foundation.
"Don't let it get too built up. You need to find someone to talk to or have an outlet." |
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Jeff visits Grand Blanc Middle School |
Grand Blanc tackles bullies
Motivational speaker visits middle school
Randy Conat - Channel 12 |
 Middle school can be a tough time to be a student. It's an awkward stage, and many times students feel inadequate. Often, students with insecurities become the targets of bullies.
Both parents and teachers at Grand Blanc Middle School wanted to stop the bullying before it got out of control, so they brought someone in to help turn things around. ABC12's Randy Conat had more.
Jeff Yalden is considered one of the most respected youth speakers in the country. He's a plain-talking guy who touches on sensitive issues like sex and character.
"You know what I've learned from life? We need to rise up and not just seek winners to associate with, but we have a responsibility to rise up so we can be a winner so that people seek it within us," he said.
He then talked the the girls about appropriate relationships and peer pressure. "Don't ever let any man ever treat you that way because the self-respect needs to be far greater than any man," he said.
The talks were organized by the Grand Blanc Middle School Parents Group, which wanted to stop a bad situation from getting worse. With more than 1,700 students, Grand Blanc Middle School is the largest middle school in the state.
Parents and teachers are hopeful attitudes and relationships will start to improve with help from Yalden. |
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Jeff visits Hopkinton, MA Middle & High School Students |
The Hopkinton News
December 6, 2006 |
 Motivational speaker and New York Times best-selling author of A Cup of Chicken Soup for the Soul, Jeff Yalden, entertained and encouraged both Middle and High School students this morning, offering a message of personal empowerment that starts with "Doing what's right" with a strong emphasis on not necessarily being the best, but "Doing your best."
Mr. Yalden, who hosted an MTV episode of a so-called reality TV show called MADE said, "It's hard to work with young people when they know I worked for MTV.
"MTV doesn't care about you...MTV is willing to pay an exorbitant amount of money to change your personality to meet their needs," he said, opening his high-energy, fast-moving presentation that delivered wisdom between teen-oriented one-liners, rapid pacing, role playing and animated storytelling.
Mr. Yalden detailed a troubled childhood, arriving home on the evening of high school graduation "Number 128 out of 132" and finding that his alcoholic father had tossed his personal belongings on the lawn. Mr. Yalden said that for years he refused to take his wife and daughter to visit with his family because of his father's illness. He took a different step this year.
"This Thanksgiving I asked my Dad to promise me to do his best not to drink. With tears in his eyes, he said 'Yes'."
Mr. Yalden's message was the same for the student gathering. If all you can do is a C that's okay. But if you can do a B and get a C, that is not acceptable, he told the group. Just try to do your best, he implored.
His presentation, sponsored by the HPTA, encouraged young people to laugh, think, and "Don't be afraid to cry at a time of sorrow."
His message fit in tightly with the School Department's "Power of One" theme that encourages students with positive themes.
Mr. Yalden autographed copies of his book for teens, They Call Me Coach, and spoke with teachers and students alike.
"I'm not sure I got across to them. Did I?" he asked a reporter in his modest, introspecting way.
Judging from the reaction of the teens, the answer would be "Yes." |
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