Agenda - 06-03-2003 - 8k - Laserfiche WebLink

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w 2 A leadership subcommittee of the group has developed a proposal to launch a training program for youth throughout the County. The first annual Youth Leadership Development Institute is scheduled to operate for five weeks from mid -June through mid -July. This fifteen - session curriculum is based on the "Community Voices" model used previously in the Cedar Grove and Efland -Cheek communities to promote adult leaders and used successfully with youth groups in other parts of the state. Community Voices is a program designed by the Kellog Foundation and administered in North Carolina through the Extension Service of NC A& T State University. The overall purpose of the program is to develop groups of leaders who want to use their problem solving and communications skills to work together to carry out projects that make a difference in their communities. The fifteen training sessions are organized into four units. At the end of these four units, the participants go from being concerned individuals to becoming a skilled team with a shared vision of the future and the organizational skills to reach that vision. In the YDLI, young people will work together with co- facilitators — a young adult coordinator paired with a more seasoned volunteer professional — to learn to: (1) build a community vision utilizing a shared group leadership approach; (2) work together effectively as a group so they can communicate their vision to others; (3) apply a problem - solving method to approach their community problems in a systematic way; and (4) plan ways to continue working on their vision through organizations at both the community and County levels. The YDLI Coordinator, a temporary position, will facilitate and administer the leadership- training program, including outreach in the community to help identify participants. The leadership committee is scheduled to host two orientations for interested students, one in Chapel Hill and the other in Hillsborough, to reduce transportation constraints. Approximately 25 students will participate in the training activity — four representing each high school and five representing alternative schools (i.e. Phoenix Academy, Charter Schools, home schools, etc.). The students will be paid a small stipend for their participation in this 5 -week training session. The outcomes of the leadership training are: (1) to build cohesiveness among the group; (2) to establish of a Youth Council /Junior Commission to provide a consistent and organized "voice" for area youth; and (3) to obtain community services learning credit. Partners in this effort include the County Manager's Office, Cooperative Extension, Human Rights & Relations Department, and Triangle United Way. Triangle United Way has awarded $10,000 to support this initial endeavor. The Youth Services Issues Group sees the YDLI as the first step in generating the youth interest, involvement, and input needed to work on the other proposals that are being developed for better serving the County's young people. FINANCIAL IMPACT: Grant funds from the Triangle United Way of $10,000 will be budgeted in the Cooperative Extension Services 4 -H Program. The balance of $15,000 required to implement the program this summer is currently available within the FY2002 -03 operating budget (non - departmental fund) for the County. RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends that the Board accept the grant award from Triangle United Way.