SUBMITTED BY BETHANY POLTL.
OPINION

December of 2018 was a busy month for the Lord Mayor Youth Advisory Council!

We are happy to report our Second Annual Niagara Youth Holiday Celebration was a great success. We had a full program and a full audience as our talented Niagara youth entertained.

The program showcased vocalists, violinists, pianists, the handbell choir, the ukulele club, and many individuals and duets all of who demonstrate that Niagara-on-the-Lake has talent.

Now, we are focused on organizing our plans for our Second Grade 8 Health and Wellness Conference in May, 2019. The one-day conference first ran last year for the Grade 8 students from local elementary schools. We had approximately 80 students attend and the feedback was all positive.

This year we are working to provide equally informative, hands-on and interactive workshop sessions, while delivering important messages to help youth navigate mental, emotional, social, and financial wellness.

Promoting teen literacy is also one of the LMYAC’s goals and we continue to support the Teen Literary Alliance, a book club which runs the last Sunday of the month at the NOTL Public Library.

To encourage reading, we suggest everyone should start off the new year with a great new book!

There are a few other ideas and surprises we are discussing to bring forward in the near future. Our ideas are dedicated to providing youth opportunities, a voice, and bringing the community together.

We thank the community for the continued support. We invite all NOTL youth to stay informed and have a voice by following us on Instagram @notllmyac and sharing your ideas on our web page www.jointheconversationnotl.org/notlyouth.