Campaign For A Presidential Youth Council Media Kit

CAMPAIGN FOR A

PRESIDENTIAL

YOUTH

COUNCIL MEDIA KIT SPRING 2014

T

he is

Campaign for a Presidential Youth Council a bi-partisan, privately funded, youth-led ini-

tiative created by young people from all across

the country.

Our mission is to establish a Presidential Youth Council, comprised of young Americans ages 16-24, to advise the President on the perspectives of young people, offer suggestions on the design and implementation of youth policies, and to create shared recommendations on issues that will affect the

cide the course of the nation and offer a permanent

Washington’s contemporary partisanship. The model for a Presidential Youth Council is a proven and established approach for engaging young people in organizations.

The State Department is building youth councils in U.S. embassies across the globe, and a number of national organizations regularly bring young people togethsolution to

er to garner their unique views and perspectives.

More than 100 local, state and national youth-serving organizations including a Presidential Youth Council would give the nation’s youth a voice in the national debate, the America’s Promise Alliance, DoSomething.org, The provide useful insight to the policymakers as they de- Forum for Youth Investment, Youth Service America, generationOn and the First Focus Campaign for Chillong-term future of our country.

The mission of the Presidential Youth Council will fulfill three

(3) objectives

1. Collect and share with the President and Congress issues relevant to the 104 million Americans under the age of 24 through listening sessions across the country.

2. Provide recommendations on the design and implementation of federal policies affecting young people. This will make the federal government more efficient and effective by incorporating young people’s innovative solutions and unique perspective.

3. Develop quality solutions on the most pressing issues facing the future of our country by creating a forum in which young people of differing viewpoints can find common ground. Solutions will require two thirds of all members to vote in the affirmative to promote compromise.

Membership

M

Presidential Youth Council will be between 16 and 24 years of age and reflect the geographic, racial, and socioeconomic diversity of America. They will be able to solicit the views and perspectives of their peers, and constructively contribute to policy deliberations. Members will be nominated by any local, state, congressional, or non-governmental youth council with a public policyrelated mission, however each youth council in consultation with their sponsoring official or organization may only nominate one young person to serve on the Presidential Youth Council. embers of the

The 16 to 24 age range ensures that young people have the ability to participate constructively in the Presidential Youth Council and aligns with the participant guidelines for federal programs like YouthBuild and Job Corps. This age range will capture the perspectives of disconnected youth as well as those of young people serving in our military, without competing with the White House Fellows Program, which targets an older, more experienced demographic.

The Council will be comprised of 24 members who are appointed by the leadership of both parties.

The President and the majority and minority leadership in both the House and the Senate will each appoint four members to the Presidential Youth Council. The congressional leadership of the party that does not control the Presidency will each have two additional appointments. The non-partisan board of directors of the Corporation for National and Community Service will appoint two co-chairs from the selected group as well as an executive director.

This will ensure that

Structure

the program is open to all young Americans, regardless of their *

financial resources.

•

Presidential Youth Council members will serve 12-month terms.

Each term will begin with two weeks spent in Washington, D.C.

improve their communication, outreach, and policy skills.

•

where council members will participate in training sessions to

•

Each Council member will conclude

their term with two weeks in Washington D.C. where they will

train and mentor the incoming

Presidential Youth Council members.

•

• While at home, Presidential Youth

Councilmembers will work with their

supporting organization and the Cor

poration for National and •

Community Service (CNCS) State

Directors.

• Monthly conference calls will

provide ongoing support and

development opportunities for each

member of the Presidential Youth

Council.

All expenses related to the Presidential Youth Council will be covered and each member will receive a stipend, pursuant to federal government regu lations. * each young person will have or will

be assigned an affiliated organization

or school sponsor and will be connected with their

CNCS state

director, who will provide additional administrative training and logistical support to the

Council member.

Youth

Implementation

Presidential Youth Council will be created as an official Federal Advisory T heCouncil

by Congress or the President and hosted at the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS). CNCS is uniquely set up to support the Youth Council with a bi-partisan board of directors and the ability to seek and receive private funds. To eliminate federal government costs, private funds will be used at the discretion of CNCS to support the program. The Presidential Youth Council is estimated to cost one million dollars per year to operate, including both staff and travel expenses. Ten corporations making $100,000 per year commitments to support the council will cover this cost. In an ideal situation, this commitment would be for five years to ensure the council has the financial support to last into the next administration.

History

I

n its June 2012 report, the White House Council for Community Solutions recommended for the establishment of a Presidential Youth Council to inform policy makers of issues most prevalent to youth as well as potential solutions to those issues. A month later, U.S. Representative John B. Larson (D-CN), former Chairman of the House Democratic Caucus and fourth-ranking Democrat in the House of Representatives, introduced H.J. Res. 115 calling for the creation of a Presidential Youth Council.

The resolution was cosponsored by Reps. Jim Cooper (D-TN), Joe Courtney (D-CT), John Shimkus (RIL), Lacy Clay (D-MO), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Steve Israel (D-NY) and Tim Ryan (D-OH). Five months later, U.S. Senators Scott Brown (R-MA) and Tom Udall (D-NM) introduced an equivalent resolution, S.R. 608, in the Senate. Sens. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), Mark Begich (D-AK), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Patty Murray (D-WA) were co-sponsors of the resolution. In February 2013, The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation awarded $50,000 to SparkAction in support of the Campaign. As a result, the Campaign has recently gained significant traction. Though the resolutions introduced in the House and Senate were referred to their respective committees but never enacted, Congressman Larson was joined by Reps. Bishop (R-UT), Brownley (D-CA), Cรกrdenas (D-CA) and thirteen others in reintroducing another resolution, H.J. Res. 68, on October 30th.

Proven Model The model for a Presidential Youth Council is a proven and established approach for engaging young people in organizations. The National League of Cities estimates that there are over 400 local youth councils in cities all across the United States. The State Department is building youth councils in U.S. embassies across the globe. Also, a number of national organizations bring young people together to garner their unique views and perspectives.*

*Please note that the listing of a precedent organization does not indicate an endorsement of the policy proposal.

Media

Endorsements

Alex Wirth is an advocate for youth involvement in government, community service, and service-learning.

Alex is the Chair of the Campaign for a Presidential Youth Council. He was appointed by Secretary Clinton to the U.S. National Commission for UNESCO where he chairs the Youth Working Group and serves as its youngest member.

Alex is a blogger for the Huffngton Post, founder of the Youth Creating Action Network, and an active tweeter (@ amaliowirth). He has served on the youth council’s of YSA, the National Youth Association, DoSomething.org, State Farm, and the Democratic National Committee. Alex has spoken at the United Nations, the Clinton Global Initiative, the UNFPA Conference in Istanbul, and the National Education Association. Alex is currently a junior at Harvard University.

Chair | Campaign for a Presidential Youth Council Phone: (505) 231-7733 Email: alxwirth@gmail.com

Grant Jirka

is the Director of Communications for the Campaign for a Presidential Youth Council. At the age of 14, he was the youngest person appointed to the Nebraska Governor’s Youth Advisory Council where he served four years on the Education and Health Committees. While still in high school, he served on Congressman Adrian Smith’s Third District Youth Council and the Nebraska Attorney General’s Youth Council. Grant realizes the importance of collaboration between government officials and youth. He has worked on developing legislation with various government officials involving foster care, alcohol and tobacco regulations, and high school education. Grant is a sophomore studying biomedical engineering at Duke University in the Pratt School of Engineering.

Director of Communications | Campaign for a Presidential Youth Council Phone: (402) 276-4742 Email: grantjirka2012@yahoo.com

Mousa is a sophomore, and Doris Stroupe Slane Trinity Scholar, at Duke University, where he is majoring in

Political Science and Philosophy. Mousa serves as the Editorial Pages Managing Editor of the Chronicle and as the Deputy Editor of the Political Philosophy section and Editor of the North Carolina section for the Duke Political Review. He serves as the Major Speakers Committee Co-Chair of the Duke Political Union, the Public Relations Offcer of the Alexander Hamilton Society, a Sophomore Class Representative for the Duke College Republicans, a Representative to the North Carolina Federation of College Republicans, an American Enterprise Institute Executive Council Member, the Director of Media Relations for the Campaign for a Presidential Youth Council and an Academic Affairs Senator on the Duke Student Government.

Director of Media Relations | Campaign for a Presidential Youth Council Phone: (336) 847-9800 Email: mousa.alshanteer@duke.edu