Page Contents: In Our Collections | Resources – Health & Wellness | – Reading & Writing | – Driving | – S.T.E.A.M.

In Our Collections

Content forthcoming–check back often!

The BFA-Fairfax Library purchases books and other materials for teens.

Resources

Health & Wellness

Alateen
​“Al‑Anon is a mutual support program for people whose lives have been affected by someone else’s drinking. By sharing common experiences and applying the Al-Anon principles, families and friends of alcoholics can bring positive changes to their individual situations, whether or not the alcoholic admits the existence of a drinking problem or seeks help.

“Alateen, a part of the Al-Anon Family Groups, is a fellowship of young people (mostly teenagers) whose lives have been affected by someone else’s drinking whether they are in your life drinking or not. By attending Alateen, teenagers meet other teenagers with similar situations. Alateen is not a religious program and there are no fees or dues to belong to it.”

Nemours(R) KidsHealth(R)’s All About Puberty
“Nemours KidsHealth is the most-viewed site for dependable information on children’s health, behavior, and development from before birth through the teen years.

National Eating Disorder Association (NEDA)
“The National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) works to advance research, build community, and raise awareness to support the nearly 30 million Americans who will experience an eating disorder in their lifetimes. Whether you have been personally affected by an eating disorder or care about someone who has, NEDA is here to help!”

Anorexia Nervosa & Related Eating Disorders (AnRed)
“A website dedicated to making it easier for you to learn about eating disorders and how to recover from them.”

Columbia Health’s Go Ask Alice
“Go Ask Alice! is an anonymous health and well-being question and answer site. We answer the questions that readers can’t find anywhere else.

“…While Go Ask Alice! provides health and well-being information, we don’t provide medical advice, diagnoses, treatment, or offer second opinions for health and well-being conditions.”

American Sexual Health Association (ASHA)’s I Wanna Know!
“ASHA is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that believes that all people have the right to the information and services that will help them to have optimum sexual health.” Provides independent, unbiased sexual health information.

It Gets Better
“It Gets Better is a nonprofit organization with a mission to uplift, empower, and connect lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer youth around the globe.”

Befrienders Worldwide
“We believe in giving a person the opportunity to explore feelings which can cause distress, the importance of being listened to, in confidence, anonymously, and without prejudice.”

TeenCentral
“TeenCentral is powered by KidsPeace as a free and safe prevention and intervention resource for youth. …For nearly twenty years KidsPeace has provided TeenCentral to teens seeking answers and support to meet the challenges they face.

“TeenCentral supports youth in a capacity that is unique from the traditional array of behavioral health services. In fact, TeenCentral often bridges the gap between services, offering youth an immediate resource for safe information and support. Through TeenCentral, adolescents can find information on a variety of topics. Users of the site can also submit a story/post regarding any crisis, problem or situation they are struggling with anonymously and receive a therapeutic support response. Adolescents receive this support from one of TeenCentral’s trained online counselors within 24-hours, safely, anonymously, and free of charge.”

Teenline
“Teen Line is an anonymous, nonjudgmental space for youth. Through our hotline, teens can access personal peer-to-peer support from highly trained teens supervised by adult mental health professionals. Our work expands to providing outreach and support to schools and other youth organizations.

“Teen Line provides support, resources, and hope to youth through a hotline of professional trained teen counselors, and works to de-stigmatize and normalize mental health through outreach programs.”

Reading & Writing

Epic Reads on YouTube
“Epic Reads is your video destination for all things YA and teen books. We post new Book Hauls once a month and more! You’ll also find original digital episodes, interviews with YA authors, exclusive event access, and more cool stuff. …Epic Reads is brought to you by HarperCollins Publishers.”

Hey, YA! podcast
“From great new books to favorite classic reads, from news to the latest in on-screen adaptations, the Hey YA podcast is here to elevate the exciting world of young adult lit.”

NaNoWriMo Young Writers​ Project
“National Novel Writing Month is a fun, empowering approach to creative writing. The challenge: draft an entire novel in just one month. For 30 wild, exciting, surprising days, you get to lock away your inner editor, let your imagination take over, and just create!
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“Our Young Writers Program supports under-18 writers and K-12 educators as they participate in our flagship event each November, and take part in smaller writing challenges year-round.”

Poetry 180
“Poetry can and should be an important part of our daily lives. Poems can inspire and make us think about what it means to be a member of the human race. By just spending a few minutes reading a poem each day, new worlds can be revealed.”

Teen Ink
“Teen Ink [is] a website and national teen magazine devoted entirely to teenage writing, art, photos, and forums. For over 33 years, Teen Ink has offered teens the opportunity to publish their creative work and opinions on issues that affect their lives–everything from love and family to school, current events, and self-esteem. Hundreds of thousands of students, aged 13-19, have submitted their work to us and we have published more than 55,000 teens since 1989.

“Teen Ink offers some of the most thoughtful and creative work generated by teens today. We have no staff writers or artists; we depend completely on submissions from teenagers around the world for our content. Teenink.com has over 480,000 registered users and continues to grow every day.

“While Teen Ink’s ownership has changed hands a few times, its mission remains the same. It is devoted to helping teens share their own voices, while developing reading, writing, creative and critical-thinking skills.”

​What to Write When You Don’t Know What to Write (And You Don’t Think You’re a Writer)
“A 3-part video series on creative writing” by Ann Braden, children’s middle grade author of The Benefits of Being an Octopus, Flight of the Puffin, Opinions and Opossums, and Into the Rapids.

WriteGirl
“WriteGirl’s mission is to promote creativity and self-expression to empower girls and gender-expansive youth, within a community of writers.”

Young Writers Project (YWP)
“​Young Writers Project (YWP) invites all young creators–13 to 19 years of age–to join the YWP community. Sign up for a free account and explore a world of creativity with other teen writers and artists! YWP is an independent nonprofit that started in 2006 with a mission to inspire, mentor, publish, and promote young writers and artists.”

Driving

Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles (VT DMV): Driver Education

Free Vermont DMV Permit Practice Test by Driving-Tests.org
“Driving-Tests.org is the leading online driver education platform, helping new drivers build confidence and competence through interactive practice tests and innovative study tools. It’s not affiliated with or operated by any state government agency.”

S.T.E.A.M.

Girls Who Code at Home, “Free computer science activities for students, educators, and parents.”

NASA STEAM Resources for Teens
“NASA explores the unknown in air and space, innovates for the benefit of humanity, and inspires the world through discovery.” Access STEM activities and opportunities.

Tinkercad
“Tinkercad is a free web app for 3D design, electronics, and coding.”