Olathe's Youth Council Plays a Large Role in Sesquicentennial

By: Devin Smith
As chairperson of Olathe's Youth Council, it's been a pleasure being involved in our most recent major project. Olathe is a suburb of Kansas City, a crossroads of the many pioneer trails that led west, and the original home of the cowboy boot. After speaking with Olathe's 150th Celebration Committee, the Olathe Youth Council was given the opportunity to assemble and bury the city's time capsule. The capsule is to be buried on City Hall grounds and will be opened at the bicentennial celebration in fifty years. We decided to make the time capsule a youth focused time capsule since we hope that many of the city's citizens that open the capsule at the bicentennial celebration will have been the youth around today. We have asked each elementary school, junior high, and high school to assemble three or four scrapbook pages including highlights from their schools and traditions. There are nearly fifty schools in our city, and the final scrapbook will give a great cross-section of the youth population presently living in Olathe. The Youth Council will also include memorial objects and other items that represent life for youth in Olathe in 2007. Our hope is that in fifty years, people will be able to see what life was like in their city half a century ago and, for those that are old enough, remember life in Olathe in their younger years. We're hoping to bury the time capsule later this year in collaboration with another city event. The Olathe Youth Council is honored to be able to serve our city in this capacity, and hope that we assemble a time capsule that is meaningful and important in Olathe's history.
The Olathe Youth Council is also hosting a "Splash Night" in the beginning of June to raise money for childhood literacy. Splash Night is a big event held at one of our local pools for third through sixth graders. We have in years past donated many of the raised funds to Olathe's Head Start program which supports preschool age students who live in poverty. Last year we raised significant funds that enable the Head Start Program to start a library. Olathe Youth Council members have read to these students during reading weeks and have encouraged reading to these preschool students.
The third major project currently underway is our pending community center. Olathe has begun planning for a large community center that will serve as a place for learning and recreation for primarily families, youth, and seniors. Classes will be offered, athletic facilities have been proposed, and multipurpose spaces will be included so that as Olathe continues to rapidly expand, our community will have a place for local events and recreation. Olathe is ranked one of the fastest growing cities in America and is projected to continue expanding past 2030. A community center will help usher in a larger population and improve quality of life in the area. The Olathe Youth Council is working with the City Council to make sure that the community center offers appropriate services and opportunities for youth in the next few decades. We represent the youth in our city and have written letters to and spoken with the Olathe City Council and designers for the community center to see what is feasible for the space and the cost. Olathe Youth Council is an important part of this process and we are very thankful to have been included in the planning for this community center.
The Olathe Youth Council has been very fortunate to have an understanding City Council. Many of the opportunities that have been made available to us wouldn't have been possible without the support we experience from the city. The Olathe Youth Council has been active for about ten years, and as we continue to make a difference in the community the adult leaders seem more and more willing to let us be more involved in the happenings of our city. After attending several of the National League of Cities' Conferences and talking with youth from around the nation involved in similar youth organizations, I've realized how rare it is to be heard and really listened to. However, I have also realized how strong a united and determined group of youth can be. Once a youth council has been given the opportunity to communicate and prove themselves to adult leaders, many times the adults are more likely to allow the youth to be more involved in the future. This has been my experience in Olathe, and I've heard of similar circumstances in other cities as well. This blog is a great outlet for youth like us to exchange ideas and be more effective in our own communities. I encourage you to get involved and feel free to contact any of the youth YEF council members if you have any questions or concerns. Thank you for all that you do for your cities to represent the youth, and continue being involved!