Racine Sun

Racine County recently issued the following announcement.

Racine County is currently accepting nominations for student participants in the Racine County Youth in Governance program. Do you know of a youth who is curious about or interested in government? Consider nominating them for an opportunity where they can contribute their voice to community issues and concerns and develop their confidence, independence, leadership skills, and civic knowledge while serving on one of five County Board committees for an entire year.

The Racine County Board of Supervisors established the Youth in Governance program in 2013. According to County Executive Jonathan Delagrave, “This is about motivating young leaders from all over our County to contribute their talents to public service now and in the future.”

To participate in Youth in Governance, students must:

• Be a Racine County resident;

• Be a high school freshman, sophomore, or junior at the time of application;

• Have a GPA of 2.5 or greater on a 4.0 scale;

• Be able to attend the monthly meetings, typically occurring once or twice per month;

• Be able to attend the orientation in April, mentor/mentee meeting in May, and the bus tours of Racine County departments in June.

The Racine County Board has partnered with University of Wisconsin-Madison, Division of Extension-Racine County staff to facilitate the Youth in Governance program. “We know from research and experience that when youth are engaged in decision making, they become substantial resources for their communities,” said recently retired Racine County UW-Madison Extension Area Director Bev Baker. A youth participant stated that, “Youth in Governance creates an environment for students to feel confident in their opinions, and to feel safe to voice this opinion. I have never been part of a program where I have felt so empowered to be a leader and to share how I felt on certain issues.”

All youth who are nominated will receive a letter and application materials. Nominations must be received by 4:30 p.m. on Friday, December 17, 2021. To nominate a youth online, please visit: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1mmu687mRGN0DHmf6w_my8s_7ohy_meUI8d7rzB0p00k.

Please contact Extension Racine County at (262)767-2929 or uwextension@racinecounty.com with any questions.

Original source can be found here.