Editorial | Building leaders of tomorrow
Cape Coral City Councilmember Jennifer Nelson-Lastra made a plea to the community Wednesday for a cause she’s claimed as her own.
The Cape Coral Youth Council is hoping to send at least 10 of its members to Washington, D.C., to take part in the National League of Cities Youth Leadership Conference in March. They’ve raised approximately $13,117 toward the cost but still are shy of their $18,700 goal.
“I also just wanted to do one more plug for our Youth Council. We are still about $6,000 away from our goal,” Ms. Nelson-Lastra, the organization’s Council liaison, said at Wednesday’s Cape Coral City Council meeting. “I would encourage any of you to share and re-post our GoFundMe page to see if we could do one more final push before we take any money out of their very limited budget.”
The Cape Coral Youth Council, a panel of students representing local high schools, was the brainchild of former Cape Councilmember Rick Williams and current Councilmember Derrick Donnell who, back in 2015, attended a Florida League of Cities conference and were impressed by the involvement of such councils in other municipalities.
It took a couple of years with Mr. Williams spearheading the effort but the Cape Coral Youth Council came together with the first 14 members appointed in 2017.
The panel — now made up of students from six schools as well as members-at-large who may be homeschooled or attend a private, charter or virtual school — has been active ever since.
The Youth Council advises the Cape Coral City Council and makes recommendations while representing Cape Coral’s younger population in city government while “advocating for City-wide issues alongside their peers.”
The trip to D.C. is intended to give the participating students not only the skills to better serve their city in their current council roles but a skillset upon which service to community can be built well into the future.
“This trip is more than a conference — it’s a transformative opportunity to sharpen public speaking, learn policymaking, and connect with young leaders nationwide,” the GoFundMe page organized by the City Council Office states.
Funds raised will help offset various costs as well as provide an opportunity to learn about projects other student councils are participating in this school year.
“If you’re able, please consider donating or sharing this post. Every bit helps our students get to D.C. and experience this incredible opportunity.,” the council member said on her Facebook page. “Thank you, Cape Coral!”
We thank Ms. Nelson-Lastra for her efforts and so share her “final push.” The GoFundMe for the trip may be found HERE.
Please post, share and, if you have some funds to spare during this season of giving, consider a donation to a city initiative designed to help build our leaders of tomorrow.
Breeze editorial