YAC November Newsletter

NOVEMBER 2010

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VOL 1 ISSUE 3

Youth Advisory council 2010-2011

Step Up Deadline is Jan. 7th

Registration is now open for Step Up Loudoun 2010-2011. The competition challenges middle and high school students to identify a problem facing Loudoun teens, develop a solution and implement their plan. Cash prizes will be awarded to the top three entries. Students may submit entries as an individual or a team.

“At various events and meetings, teens in the County have listed a number of challenges they face including bullying, academic stress, peer pressure and more,” said Kevin Turner, Chair of Loudoun County’s Advisory Commission on Youth (ACOY). “The Call to Action is an opportunity for youth to take initiative and address the issues.”

Interested teens must submit written proposals identifying their issue and solution to www.stepuploudoun.org by January 7, 2011.

Implemented plans will be presented and awards given at Step Up Loudoun on April 4, 2011. There will be plenty of support for the contestants. A peer review session is scheduled for January 24, 2011. Resources will be available at www.stepuploudoun.org and on the Step Up Facebook page. Students may ask questions on the Facebook page or by emailing info@stepuploudoun.org.

Battle of the Bands Kick Off The first Battle of the Bands is set for th December 10 from 6:30 to 10pm at AV-COM Visual Arts is Sterling.

There will be three competitions with the top three bands from each event advancing to the finals. All finalists will perform at YouthFest 2011 and the winning band will open for the headliner.

All Governors should plan to attend and help out at the Battles. The schedule is December 10, 2010, February 25,2011, March 25, 2011 and the finals are April 29, 2011.

Sign up to work at the December Battle at the th November 15 YAC meeting.

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YAC Calendar 11/15 YAC Meeting 6:30-8pm PRCS 11/22-11/26 No School, LCPS 12/6

YAC Meeting 6:30-8pm PRCS

12/10 Battle of the Bands 6:30-10pm 12/12 Holiday Colation 12pm-5pm 12/13 Holiday Party 6:30-8 TD Bank 1/03/11 YAC Meeting 6:30-8pm PRCS

YAC Visits VCU YAC members made the trip to Richmond on November 2 to tour the campus of Virginia Commonwealth University.

VCU staff took us on a tour and offered information on programs the campus.

VCU also provided lunch at the Shafer Court Dining Center. Project Discovery students also attended.

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Holiday Coalition December 12 The Youth Advisory Council will be helping shoppers at the Holiday Coalition on Sunday, December 12, 2010 from 12pm to 5 pm.

There will be two shifts: 12pm to 2:30pm and 2:30pm to 5pm.

Five people are needed per shift. There will be sign ups at the next two YAC meetings.

Rock the Runway Leslie Mark rocks the runway

Vanya and Fatima enjoy the day

Thanks to all the Governors who came out for Rock the Runway on November 6 at AV-Com Visual Arts.

Loudoun Youth Inc. sponsored the event which gave about 50 teens the opportunity to model, including our own Leslie Mark, a Governor from Dominion High School.

YAC had a great turnout and made about $300 from the event. A special thank you to those of you who helped at the concession stand: Vanya Aggarwal, Nico Climaco, Kiley Garrett, Fatima Khan, Patrick McBride, Brianna Matthews, Jesseca Hoff, Florence Thompson, Mark Bland, Collin Brennan, Sam Dillistin, Haya Rizvi and Alisha Gowda.

More Thanks There were several events in October where YAC was asked to participate: Thanks to Nico Climaco, Kiley Garrett and Joe Tiernan for setting up and manning the YAC table at the South Riding Community Information Night.

The YAC concession stand

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Thanks to those of you who signed up to help out at the Sterling Community Center Haunted House: Kavita Sthanumurthy, Jesseca Hoff, Adam Hoff, Brianna Matthews and Jackie Causey. Thanks for bringing some friends along to help. You are always welcome to bring friends to volunteer at YAC events.

Finally, thanks to those of you who attended the Step Up presentations at your schools. All the presenters appreciated the familiar faces.

Continue to help us promote Step Up.

NOVEMBER 2O1O

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YAC Notes

Food Drive YAC has already made quite a contribution to the Loudoun Interfaith Food Bank. The Community Service Cabinet will continue to collect nonperishable food items throughout the year. Just bring your food items to any YAC meeting. .

Holiday Party YAC Governors The YAC Holiday Party will be Monday, th December 13 at the TD Bank Building on Market Street in Leesburg.

TD Bank offered to host the event to recognize the contributions of YAC Governors.

We will have refreshments, activities and some YAC business

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Step Up Loudoun (continued from page 1) “This competition gives self motivated youth the opportunity to make a real, tangible difference in the community,” said Christina Druther, Executive Director of Loudoun Youth, Inc. “Instead of just talking about the problems, they will put a solution in place.”

Students are encouraged to be creative.

“Entries could be anything; a blog, artwork, a rally, a video, whatever best addresses the issue identified by the youth,” said Druther.

At Step Up Loudoun in April, teens will present their proposal and a summary of the implementation. Presentations will be judged on the depth of issue analysis, quality of the solution, effectiveness of implementation, originality (in issue selection and treatment), and thoroughness of preparation. The winning team or individual will receive $1,000 and recognition at Youth in Government Day and YouthFest 2011.

December Meeting Our meeting schedule in December will change.

There will not be a YAC meeting on December th 20 . th We will meet on the first Monday, December 6 for a normal business meeting. Our party will be th on December 13 .

Volunteer Logs Volunteer Loudoun offers the President’s Volunteer Service Award. Recipients will receive a personalized certificate signed by the President of the United States and a lapel pin. The award is based on three levels: Bronze Level ages 5-14 (50-74 hours) ages 14-High School Graduate (100-174 hours) Silver Level ages 5-14 (75-99 hours) ages 14-High School Graduate (175-249 hours) Gold Level ages 5-14 (100+ hours) ages 14-High School Graduate (250+ hours) Log your hours and return the form to Volunteer Loudoun or your school’s Guidance Office by May 1, 2011. Log forms are available at any YAC meeting.

Important Dates 1/07/11 Registration Closes 1/24/11 Review Session 4/04/11 Step Up Loudoun For More Information www.stepuploudoun.org Find Step Up Loudoun on Facebook

Ideas?

Suggestions?

Send them to yac@loudoun.gov

Y AC