More than 120 Schuylkill County high school students gathered last week for the annual Schuylkill County Youth Summit at Penn State-Schuylkill. The Youth Summit is sponsored by Schuylkill County Commissioners and Schuylkill Connects.
At this year’s event, students learned how they can get involved in their communities and make a difference in a variety of ways. They learned what non-profit organizations are, which are active in Schuylkill County, and how they can get involved.
Rebecca Woods, marketing director at Schuylkill United Way, encouraged the students to get involved with non-profits.
“Who inspires you,” she asked during a panel discussion at Youth Summit. “When you get frustrated with a problem, just remember who inspires you and don’t be afraid to get involved.”
They also heard from Ben Forbes, an attorney at Williamson, Friedberg & Jones, on how municipal meetings operate and how to properly participate in them.
“Don’t underestimate how much say you can have,” he told students.
Sabrina McLaughlin-Willinsky, the regional representative for Sen. John Fetterman, and Evelyn Datte, regional director for US Rep. Dan Meuser, spoke on how the federal government operates, how those they represent worked together on legislation, and how they got into their jobs.
Gary Hess, who champions the Youth Summit on behalf of Schuylkill County Commissioners, says this annual event helps create new leaders in the area. He expects students at this year’s summit to carry on what’s been built so far.
“Our young people are our future leaders. If we don’t have someone that can take over, we’ve built it for nothing,” Hess said.
He hopes students that attended this year’s Youth Summit view Schuylkill County as a place where they can become successful. Hess said he sees signs that involvement in civic organizations and local government is turning around among the younger population here. And he believes this event is helping create those future leaders.
Hess said he’s encouraged by what he heard and saw from students at this year’s summit, especially their desire to get involved in some issues that are affecting communities right now, such as homelessness and food insecurity in the schools.
“It definitely has worked,” he said, adding that he, his fellow Commissioners, and other currennt civic leaders are listening to what students want from them. “Their voices have been heard. When you work together, things happen.”
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