Networking Dinner is a Success!

On Thursday, November 6, 2006, the Temple Youth VOICES Project hosted a Networking Dinner. Planned and facilitated by the Leaders Corps, the aim of the dinner was to start an ongoing dialogue between groups dedicated to youth empowerment. VOICES’ long term objective is to motivate the creation of a citywide coalition among organizations committed to youth-driven social change and community uplift. During the dinner, representatives from 16 different organizations shared their missions and long-term goals, as well as their ongoing initiatives. There was a synergistic spirit of service learning and grass roots activism that connected individuals and groups together as everyone mingled and made plans to meet again in January. Youth and adults alike expressed excitement and passion for the limitless possibilities that a collaboration of this nature promises. To read more about this event, please visit the Newsletter Archive on our website and download a copy of the Winter 2007 newsletter. To find out when the next networking dinner is scheduled or to get involved, please contact Catie Cavanaugh at >>catiec@temple.edu.

Youth Shine at the Dwight Evans Civil Leadership Summit!

On October 27 and 28, 2006 the second annual Dwight Evans Civic Leadership Summit (DECLS) was help at the National Constitution Center. The summit, sponsored by State Representative, Dwight Evans, exists to empower youth with the knowledge and tools to become critically engaged while improving the quality of life in their communities. This year’s summit connected 11 students from five Philadelphia high schools through workshops aimed at leadership development, interaction with civic leaders, and the introduction and completion of “Project Citizen” a curriculum which provides students with opportunities to focus on the impact of state and local government policy on their neighborhoods and communities. During the summit, participants were given the chance to interact with various civic leaders as well as express themselves in a Town Hall discussion which focused on “bearing witness”. The high point of the summit came when students presented their work in teams to an audience of over 100 people, including a panel of three judges who later engaged the presenters in a questions and answer session. To read more about the Dwight Evans Summit and the impact the event had on the Philadelphia youth who attended, please visit the Newsletter Archive and download a copy of the Winter 2007 newsletter.