Palmer Trinity School

Bird's Eye View |Community Involvement| Youth Advisory Committe (YAC) Some of our proposed activities for this 2008 – 2009 year also include releasing, reviewing, and awarding a YAC grant, attending The Children's Trust board meetings, and participating in community awareness campaigns as well as youth leadership conferences. The Children's Trust, created in 2002 and funded through taxes, is an organization dedicated to improving the lives of the children and families of Miami-Dade County through investments in their future. The Trust funds various programs that offer quality services to the children of our community. In past years, the Trust started a program called "Quality Counts" to improve child care in MiamiDade. It has funded and continues to fund out-of-school programs and summer camps that help improve the lives of children through increased physical fitness as well as teaching them important life skills. In addition, The Children's Trust funds programs that promote the prevention of youth violence. Organizations like The Children's Trust have been established in eight different Florida counties. One of the most exciting YAC events is taking part in the Children's Week Activities in Tallahassee. Each year, the YAC travels to Tallahassee to participate in the legislative process. Last year the group, composed of six YAC members, met with other youth groups from around Florida and spoke to senators and representatives, including Senators Larcenia Bullard and Rudy Garcia. They attended a Child Advocacy Dinner where they met Governor Charlie Crist. At such meetings, the YAC helped pass a bill through a committee and spoke to legislators about issues that were important to them. As a new YAC member, I look forward to this annual trip and making a mark in our community by contributing to the legislative process. For the past five years, I have traveled to Honduras where I visited a girls' orphanage. I saw the impact I made on the girls' lives at the home, and it is that experience that inspired me to begin helping the youth of Miami-Dade. It is an honor to have been chosen a YAC member and to inspire children. I look forward to assisting The Children's Trust in making decisions that will create a positive impact on the future of Miami-Dade children and families. By Margaret Cookson, Class of 2010 A large and important part of The Children's Trust is its Youth Advisory Committee (YAC), a group of thirty high school students from several schools throughout Miami-Dade. As members of the Youth Advisory Committee, I and other teens in the area act as the voice of Miami-Dade's youth by helping to advise The Children's Trust on issues that matter to our county's children. Through surveys and meetings, YAC members inform The Children's Trust of the issues that are pertinent to the youth in today's society – thus helping the Trust decide where to invest its funds. Not only do YAC members give the Trust a youth's perspective, but we spread awareness of The Children's Trust as well as advocate children's rights. We participate in various forms of outreach and develop projects based on our interests as individuals. For example, this year we have begun to talk about creating a project in MiamiDade County to address pertinent issues such as children with disabilities, crime violence, health and safety, as well as education. 6 Margaret Cookson with fellow YAC members

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