By: Deborah Johnson Wood
Our Community’s Children is seeking 25 sixth through twelfth grade students to serve in paid positions on the Grand Rapids Youth Commission. The commission has launched an initiative to create a master plan for Grand Rapids youth policies. Five adults will act as mentors for the youth as they gain experience in public policy formation and government and community leadership.
“There are lots of coalitions and initiatives that work on youth issues, but we need a master plan to get them all working together,” says Shannon L. Harris, program coordinator. “We received a technical assistance grant from the National League of Cities for $35,000 to $50,000 of technical assistance in research, best practices, and methods of creating master plan guidelines, and that grant will be used to develop the youth master plan.”
The youth applicants must be Grand Rapids residents. They will participate in youth leadership and job training and will administer a city-wide needs assessment survey to clearly identify the needs and aspirations of youth in Grand Rapids. The data gathered will be included in a Youth Master Plan.
“This is a unique opportunity for young people to actively participate in creating a first-ever Youth Master Plan that will help guide policy-makers in setting priorities for youth, said Lynn Heemstra, Executive Director of Our Community’s Children. I’m also excited to announce that these young people will be paid for the exciting and hopefully life-change work they will perform.”
The service commitment is 18 months. Interested youth can apply at www.grcity.us/ourchildren. Applications are due on Friday, April 4, 2008.
Source: Shannon L. Harris, Our Community’s Children
Deborah Johnson Wood is the development news editor for Rapid Growth Media. She can be contacted at [email protected].
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