Engaging Florida’s Youth

Students statewide participate in FLC youth council programs

by Eryn Russell, Florida League of Cities

Educating and engaging young people with the work of local government is key to cultivating the next generation of civic leaders. Composed of high school students, municipal youth councils are special citywide councils that typically serve as an advisory board to the local government. These youth council members are the future leaders of our communities.

Throughout the year, students across the state participated in Florida League of Cities youth council programs to help foster Florida’s future municipal leaders.

YOUTH COUNCIL COMMUNITY SERVICE CONTEST

Earlier this year, the League announced the winners of the 2021 Municipal Youth Council Community Service Contest. This annual contest asks youth councils to submit projects that address specific needs in their local communities. Five projects were selected as winners.

The City of Alachua Youth Advisory Council collaborated with Guardian Ad Litem and the University of Florida to collect sports equipment donations for local foster children. Through an outreach plan developed by members of the Youth Council, they contacted local businesses, churches and other community organizations to set up collection boxes at locations throughout the City if approved. In total, the Council collected more than 200 sports items.

The Alachua Youth Advisory Council set up collection boxes in various locations to collect used baseball and softball equipment.

Photo courtesy of Mike Daroza

The City of Atlantic Beach Youth Council partnered with Blessings in a Backpack to fill bags with food and words of encouragement for food-insecure children at local elementary schools. Each backpack included healthy options such as fruit, tuna, macaroni and cheese, cereal and peanut butter, as well as a few fun options such as fruit-flavored snacks and pastries. The Council exceeded their original expectations by gathering double the supplies necessary for the project.

The Atlantic Beach Youth Council filled backpacks with healthy snacks for food insecure elementary school children.

Photo courtesy of City of Atlantic Beach

The City of Clermont Youth Council created hygiene care packages for the homeless population and partnered with the Clermont Police Department to distribute the packages. Each package included socks, razors, toothbrushes, soaps, shampoo and a personal message of support from the City. Additionally, each package was made of reflective material to help keep members of the homeless community safe as they crossed streets or walked along sidewalks.

The Clermont Youth Council created hygiene care packages for the homeless population and partnered with the Clermont Police Department to distribute the bags.

Photo courtesy of City of Clermont

The Village of Pinecrest Youth Advisory Council educated the community about mental health by declaring a “Mental Health Day” and launching a series named “YOUth” that focused on mental health topics and featured issue experts.

The Pinecrest Youth Advisory Council launched “YOUth,” a series of informational sessions on various mental health topics.

Photo courtesy of City of Pinecrest

The City of Pinellas Park TeenWorkX Youth Council partnered with Family Resources, a local nonprofit, to provide holiday gifts to local homeless children and at-risk youth. They collected clothing, art supplies, games, hygiene products and other items that were then donated to SafePlace 2B Youth Shelter. Ultimately, the Council was able to provide holiday gifts to every child at the shelter.

The Pinellas Park TeenWorkX collected clothing, art supplies, games, hygiene products and more to donate to the local Safe Place 2B Youth Shelter.

Photo courtesy of City of Pinellas Park

YOUTH COUNCIL VIRTUAL SUMMIT

In May 2021, 50 youth council members from across the state joined FLC staff in the first-ever Youth Council Virtual Summit. Representatives from Apopka, Aventura, Belleair, Clermont, Cutler Bay, Hollywood, Lauderhill, Niceville, Ocoee, St. Petersburg, Tamarac and Tampa attended. Youth council coordinators were also invited to join the call and given an opportunity to meet and talk.

FLC Director of Leadership Development and Education Scott Paine, Ph.D., and FLC Ambassador Shwanda Barnette presented the HADOC method and explained how to use it when having difficult conversations with friends, family and their local communities. The HADOC acronym stands for Hear the challenge, Accept what is said, Depersonalize in response to the challenge, Own your subjectivity and Care. The students learned that using the HADOC method is not about winning a conversation but understanding the conversation participants.

Youth were presented with two difficult questions and then placed in breakout sessions to practice using the HADOC method. The debrief after the session allowed students to share how they navigated having a challenging conversation with their peers.

Students were also tasked with brainstorming ideas for fostering constructive conversations within their councils and communities. Comments from the debrief included the importance of focusing on the idea rather than the individual when having a tough conversation, the need to bring partisan groups together to discuss ideas that will benefit the community and the desire to teach the community HADOC method to friends and family.

Eryn Russell is Programs Coordinator and an Ambassador at the Florida League of Cities.

Council2College Scholarship

The Florida League of Cities announced the recipients of the Council2College Scholarship, an essay contest that assists the state’s municipal youth council leaders who are pursuing post-high school education. The contest requires graduating high school seniors to write an essay describing their most impactful experience as members of their youth councils and how that experience helped prepare them for college.

Four scholarship recipients were selected. The first-place tie recipients received $1,000, second place received $500 and third place received $250.

▸ First place (tie): Danielle Miller, Hollywood Youth Ambassadors, and Gabriela Sartan, Aventura Youth Advisory Board

▸ Second place: Kirk Dourvetakis, Cooper City Teen Council

▸ Third place: Teresa Schuster, Cutler Bay Youth Council Committee.