Wellspring hosts local high school students for Civic Engagement Institute for Youth

MONROE, La. (KNOE) - The Wellspring hosted the Civic Engagement Institute for Youth(CEIY) on Feb. 6 and 7, 2023 in the Technology Center at Louisiana Delta Community College.

The CEIY is designed to help engage students by teaching them the best practices of civic engagement.

High school sophomores and juniors from Ouachita, West Monroe and Wossman High School were grouped into teams to research topics of local and national concern.

Each team created a proposal and then presented it to community leaders on the second day of the event.

Jennifer Graves, Youth Empowerment Program Coordinator of Wellspring says, “It was so inspiring to hear students’ presentations and their ideas for ways to impact these social issues. They offered concrete solutions that could be implemented on a local and national level. It is my goal that they feel empowered to follow through with their ideas and any others they have in the future and to realize they have the power to promote change.”

Through CEIY, students learned how to identify issues like bullying, drug abuse, depression, anxiety, and healthy and unhealthy relationships.

The goal of CEIY is to mobilize students by providing them with the idea of how they can make their voices heard.

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