YC MEETS EVERY WEDNESDAY!

Welcome!

The new Gahanna Youth Council is a group of teens, supported by the City of Gahanna, GC3 and the Gahanna area schools. This new group will be organizing social events for teens, community events, and providing community service. Meetings have been held to discuss goals and activities. All teens grade 9 - 12, living in the Gahanna school district or attending a Gahanna school, are encouraged to join our group. Find out how you can help make Gahanna "the place to be". See below for more details!

Waz Up!

TeenFest '07! YC rocked Gahanna this past August with TeenFest 07!. TeenFest is a music and art festival planned by teens for teens. TeenFest '07 took place on August 11th. This fun festivial is open to all teens in the Gahanna area. A Battle of the Bands allows area teen bands to entertain the crowd and win great prizes. Teen artists are given the opportunity to show their work and earn a chance to display in the new gallery, The Writing on the Wall. Teens can even make a little money by applying to be a vendor of snacks or craft items. In addition, teen volunteers devote their time to put it all together. Please join us at any of our meetings to find out how you can get involved in TeenFest '08.

While TeenFest has been a top priority, members are also busy planning a "Meet the Candidate" forum on September 12, 2007. YC members will team up with the Gahanna Chamber of Commerce to bring this event to the community. Attending the forum only is free, but pre-registration is required. If you would like to enjoy lunch there will be a fee of $12 for Chamber members, and $14 for non-members. Please contact the Gahanna Chamber of Commerce at 471-0451 by September 10th to make your reservation.

Also in the works are a conference in Dayton, a fall retreat, and participation in the National Youth Conference. And if thats not enough, YC will again be hosting the Gahanna Creep, Crawl or Run 5K on Saturday October 27, 2007. Runners and walkers of all abilities and ages are encouraged to attend. Registration is $20 in advance and $25 on the day of the event. Costumes are optional. In addition, members continue to plan social events, service projects and are developing an embasador program to involve members with the Parks and Recreation Board and in the middles schools.

Congratulations to all of our newly elected officers and chairpersons! The newly created council positions include include Secretary, Treasurer, Social Events Chair, Community Service Chair, Advertising Chair and Outreach Chair. With officers in place, YC will continue to grow and build for the future. We are excited to be the first youth council in Ohio recognized by the National League of Cities. YC has come a long way in their first year thanks to a great group of teens and their advisor, Abbey, from Gahanna Parks and Rec.

Members continue to plan a youth led "Meet the Candidate" night, social events, and are developing an embasador program to involve members with the Parks and Recreation Board and in the middles schools.

Service Projects

Part of being involved in YC is about teens giving back to the community. Thanks to all who helped in the collection of used children clothing to be sent to a used clothing store in Volsk, Russia. Quest Community Church in New Albany initiated this drive to help less fortunate families in Russia provide clothing for their children. Clothing in Russia is extremely expensive and second-hand clothing is not readily available. YC members were happy to help in this project.

This past December, YC adopted a family through G.R.I.N and worked together to collect gifts and basic necessities. Members enjoyed shopping, baking cookies and wrapping gifts for delivery. YC members are looking for other local volunteer opportunites and have discussed monthly projects and visiting a soup kitchen. All teens in Gahanna are encouraged to participate in one time events or on an ongoing basis.

See New York!

Gahanna Parks and Rec has great plans for YC members to explore new sights and life and art in the big city. This fall, a select number of Gahanna teens will travel to New York for an Art-Full weekend! Teens will leave Gahanna on a Friday evening in October, and return Sunday evening. Do you want to know more? Join us at one of our meetings or visit Gahanna Parks and Rec to find out more about this trip and other teen activities in Gahanna.

In October 06, YC organized Gahanna's Creep, Crawl or Run 5K. The cold, wet weather made for a "ghoulish" run. Thanks to all who braved the weather and the early morning wake up to attend this event. Race proceeds will be used to provide scholarships to kids in need to Gahanna's summer camp. Watch for this event to become an October tradition.

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We had a great turn out at our September orientation meeting with many new faces. Thanks to all who attended! New members were briefed on who we are and what we do. Marketing and ideas for the future were also discussed. Marketing our group is a top priority. More members equal more activities and more fun! Feel free to send us your ideas.

Attention Skaters! Last spring we had a meeting to choose the new elements for the skate park. Thanks to all who attended this meeting to add their ideas. The new elements were to be revealed at the 2006 summer TeenFest but these new additions have been delayed. We will keep you posted.

YC hosted their first social event in June '06. This social was planned to allow teens to hang out with friends and be introduced to the new Gahanna YC. Basketball, kickball, dodgeball and music by Partytime DJ's, kept the group moving. Thanks to all who attended and helped out with this event. Planning teen events is one of the goals of Youth Council and we welcome your ideas and participation. YC hopes to see you and a friend at our next event. We'll keep you posted!

Want to know more? Join our group! Meeting times and events are listed below.

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What do I get out of it?

The benefits of joining the Gahanna Youth Council; one member's perspective:

You need to do community service anyway
Looks good on a college application
You can learn new things
You don't have to do everything
FREE FOOD
It's FUN!!!!!!

Where and When

Regularly scheduled meetings will be held the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of the month, after school from about 3:00 to 4:30 in the city hall building. 3:00 to 3:30 will be social hour. Be sure to stop by to find out more about Youth Council and help us spread the word - "There's a new kid in town - Youth Council!"

For more information and updates on meeting times and locations, please E-mail: Gahanna Youth Council orAbbey.Brooks@Gahanna.gov
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About Us

As of January 2006, the Gahanna Youth Council is alive and growing thanks to the GC3 Gahanna Coalition for Character and Citizenship and the City of Gahanna. A Youth Council is a group of young adults who come together to bring about positive change in their community. Youth Councils can make an impact with civic involvement, community service, and social opportunities. The new Gahanna Youth Council is working hard to build interest and increase their visibility in the community. Their fresh ideas, energy and talents will be used to help create a teen friendly community while building a valued relationship with adults and businesses in the community.

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