DCYAC Easter Project

Last Saturday, the DCYAC worked with families in the Valley Place Transitional Home to decorate Easter Eggs and to make Easter baskets. We'd like to thank Valley Place for providing us with an opportunity to help out.

Upcoming DCYAC Community Service Project

The next DCYAC community service project will take place on Saturday, April 11th from 11:00am-1:00pm (please arrive by 10:45am). We will be decorating Easter baskets and eggs for children in the Valley Place Family Transitional Program. If you would like to participate please RSVP to Benjamin Vance at Benjamin.vance@dc.gov. Here are additional details about the event:

1357 Valley Place, SE Suite 102
Washington, DC 20020
Closest METRO: Green Line-Anacostia Station

DC Youth Advisory Council Members Sworn In by Mayor Fenty

Last night, over 100 parents, friends, and family members looked on as members of the 2008-2009 District of Columbia Youth Advisory Council (DCYAC) were sworn in by Mayor Adrian. M. Fenty. Fourty-six youth (32 council members and 14 Ward Advisors) representing Wards 1-8, the juvenile justice, and foster care systems took a pledge to advocate for youth in the District for a two year term. Those in attendance had an opportunity to learn more about the DCYAC, network, and have their pictures taken with Mayor Fenty. On behalf of the entire DCYAC staff, thank you to everyone who attended. We look forward to an amazing year! For more information about the DCYAC visit www.dcyac.dc.gov.

DCYAC Elects New Executive Board

Pictured from left to right: (back row) Andre Nichols, Phillip Martin, Tyrell Holcomb, Jesse Pollak, Tierra Glymph. (front row) Asha Stephens, Sidney-Sands Ramshaw, Cleo Abram, Connell Wise.

The new Executive Committee Members and Sub Committee Members are responsible for the public service responsiblities. They communicate regularly with other youth to identify and understand the myraid of issues, concerns, and challeges that children, teens, and young adults face today. They will be responsible for formulating policies stances and debate them with their fellow DC Youth Advisory Council (DCYAC) members at regularly scheduled meetings, and they present their ideas and policy solutions to the community's elected leadership and other tribal government officials. The officers' position are as following:

EXCUTIVE COMMITEE MEMBERS- Chairperson- Tyrell Holcomb; Vice Chairperson- Phillip Martin; Secretary- Asha Stephens; Treasurer- Tierra Glymph; Parliamentarian- Sidney- Sands Ramshaw.

SUB COMMITTEES- Employment-Jesse Pollak; Public Safety- Lanae Gaines; Health and Human Services- Cleo Abram; Education- Andre Nichols

Last night DC Youth Advisory Council members elected new officers for the 2008-2009 year.

DCYAC Seeks New Council Members!

The DC Youth Advisory Council (DCYAC) is seeking youth who are passionate about making a difference in their community to join today! We are currently looking for youth to serve as At-Large council members and as representative for Wards 1, 2, and 6. At-Large councilmembers have experience in the juvenile justice or foster care system and the Ward representatives must currently reside in that particular Ward. We work with dynamic youth from across the city are and looking for young people who are hard working, dedicated to creating change, and who will advocate for those who cannot do so for themselves. If you are interested or know someone who is apply online today at http://www.dcyac.dc.gov/. Contact us at dcyac@dc.gov or 202.727.7966 if you have any questions.

DCYAC Members Witness History

Over the course of the next few days, DCYAC members will share pictures and stories from their inauguration experiences. From the swearing in and parade to the official Youth Ball, DCYAC members had a once in a lifetime opportunity to witness history in the making. Enjoy!

On January 20, 2009, I attended the inauguration parade. Since this year’s inauguration was a historical moment for African Americans, it was a wonderful experience. Despite the large crowds, the cold weather and difficulty in getting through security, I had a lot of fun. I got a chance to see President Obama get out his limo and walk down constitution Ave. with his wife Michelle Obama. I also got a chance to meet new people amongst the crowd in witnessing this experience. If you didn’t come out and celebrate this wonderful moment in history, it was your loss.

Tierra Glymph

11th Grade

School Without Walls Senior High School

On the night of the inauguration, I attended the first annual Peace Ball hosted by Busboys and Poets. The ball was a lot of fun and several important figures came to voice their appreciation for the newly elected president, Barack Obama. Everyone at the ball was at such a high energy from witnessing the life changing event a few hours before at the swearing in ceremony, and the ball lasted all the way untill 2 AM. However, my friends and I stayed till 12 that night because we had gotten tired since we had arrived to the ball at 5:30 that evening. We regretted leaving because just as we were exiting the postal museum, which was where the ball was held, Michael Franty and the Spearheads came on to sing. The band raised the intensity level severely and people began dancing and singing all over again as if the night had just begun. Overall, the ball was very exciting and was a perfect way to finish off the night after witnessing Obama officially becoming the next president of the United States.

Nina Shallal

11th Grade

School Without Walls Senior High School

DCYAC Feautured in the Washington Post: Essay Prize- Parade Seats for DC Kids

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/content/article/2009/01/03/AR2009010301743_pf.html

Essay Prize: Parade Seats For D.C. Kids
By Nikita Stewart
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, January 4, 2009; C01

Some lucky and literary D.C. middle and high school students could write their own ticket to a front row seat at President-elect Barack Obama's inaugural parade.More than 100 students will be selected to sit in a viewing stand in front of the White House for the Jan. 20 parade based on the best 500-word essays that answer the question: "How can I contribute to my neighborhood through community service?"The students must be District residents who attend public or private school in the city, said Kevin Griffis, a spokesman for the inaugural committee.

The essays must be submitted by a parent or legal guardian who also resides in the District. Winners will be selected by the inaugural committee. They will receive three tickets, allowing them to bring two guests to the viewing stand next to one reserved for Obama and other dignitaries."This is prime real estate, I guess you could say," Griffis said.The Presidential Inaugural Committee wanted to emphasize Obama's commitment to community service and to the District, Griffis said. "It's . . . to say 'thank you' to the people of Washington," he said.Michelle Obama, wife of the president-elect, has said that she and her family want to be a part of the D.C. community just as they have been in Chicago.

Daughters Malia and Sasha start at Sidwell Friends School tomorrow.Parents and guardians may enter their children's essays at http://www.pic2009.org/dcstudentessay. Entries must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. Jan. 11.Edward Doxen, 16, a junior at McKinley Technology High School, could barely contain his excitement yesterday. "How do I enter?" he asked. "When is the essay due?"Doxen, a member of the D.C. Youth Advisory Council, said Obama's gesture and the topic of giving back to neighborhoods were meaningful. "It's good that he's trying to touch base," he said. "I think it's a great opportunity. . . . A lot of us wouldn't get to go."The contest follows a trend of the inaugural committee's focus on youth and a literary approach to the event.There already is an online essay contest for writers of any age to pen something about what the inauguration means to them.

Ten winners will receive a package deal that includes airfare, lodging and tickets to an official ball, the parade and the swearing-in.The swearing-in will include a reading by poet and District native Elizabeth Alexander.The inaugural committee has also planned a free concert for young people at the Verizon Center on the eve of the inauguration. No word on how to get tickets.Tickets for other bleacher seats along the parade route on Pennsylvania Avenue may go on sale next week, Griffis said, although he had no details about how many will be available or how much they will cost.

In the past, ticket prices have ranged from $15 to $150.The National Park Service and inaugural committee are limited to building bleachers that can accommodate about 8,700 people, down from 20,000 in 2005 for President Bush's second inaugural parade, after a ruling by a federal judge.U.S. District Court Judge Paul L. Friedman ruled in favor of the ANSWER Coalition, an antiwar group that argued that the seats turned the parade into a private affair. In 2005, spectators on the sidewalk complained that they could not see around the bleachers.

To apply for the essay contest visit: http://www.pic2009.org/page/s/dcstudentessay