The Mayor’s Youth Council (MYC) of Northfield, Minnesota is a city-commissioned group run by 15 diverse youth community members. As a result of the efforts of the MYC, youth now sit on the interview teams any time a new police officer is hired in Northfield, the group meets regularly with the city’s Library Board to discuss planned renovations to the public library, and they have partnered with other groups in town design a skateboard plaza for local youth. The youth-run Skateboard Coalition (which the MYC helped form) has raised over $30,000 for this effort. Among other accomplishments, MYC members now sit on a local grant committee, make funding decisions to support youth recreation, partner with the local peer mentoring program and collaborate with the Recreation Coordinator to plan high school intramural tournaments and other drug-free teen events.
The MYC has received several awards on behalf of Northfield because of its persistent efforts to affect local civic decisions. After single-handedly completing an extensive and competitive application, the MYC helped Northfield earn one of the “100 Best Communities for Young People” awards. Furthermore, Northfield and the Mayor’s Youth Council were featured in the opening video of the Minnesota Summit on Youth Development and Dropout Prevention, sponsored by the Minnesota Department of Education and the Minnesota Alliance with Youth last December.
The mayor of Northfield has been quoted repeatedly as saying that the creation of the MYC is one of the greatest hallmarks of his term in office. It has provided young people a platform for involvement in civic life, helped to incorporate new (and previously unheard) voices into city government, and generated incredible positive publicity for the community.
Zach Pruitt is the coordinator for the Northfield Healthy Community Initiative. For more information call the initiative at (507) 664-3524 or email Zach at zpruitt@carleton.edu
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