Midland County Youth Action Council Write and Receive Alcohol Awareness Grant

The Midland Area Community Foundation is pleased to announce that the youth of MCYAC (Midland County Youth Action Council) applied for and received an alcohol prevention grant from the Michigan Community Foundation’s Youth Project Committee.  The teens, who spent months researching and applying for the grant, were very excited to learn that their grant was fully funded. “The hours of work we put in are hours truly well spent because we’re bringing a new twist to alcohol prevention that will hopefully combat underage drinking with full force. We hope to give teens a new perspective on why underage drinking can hurt them,” said Jillian Morrissey, a senior at Midland High School as well as MCYAC Secretary and grant co-author.

MCYAC, a youth board that reviews and award grants to make the community a better place for youth, is matching the grant funds out of their own budget because they passionately believe that underage drinking is a cause that needs attention. “MCYAC’s main goal is to better the lives of the youth in the community and eliminating underage drinking would be a huge success,” explained J. Cole, the MCYAC President from Meridian High School and grant co-author. The youth have big plans for the grant—they will use it to host a alcohol-prevention conference open to every high school in Midland County. The conference, called My Sober PROMise, will provide alcohol prevention groups like S.A.D.D. (Students Against Drunk Driving) with information and motivation to take back to their schools to successfully address underage drinking, especially surrounding prom. “We’re putting on this conference because there are so many great resources in the community that are overlooked, so we’re bringing them into the spotlight,” said Cole.

The most exciting aspect of the conference is that each school attending will also receive a $200 grant from MCYAC and promotional materials to distribute in their schools. “I think that it’s awesome that we are giving the schools grants, because we aren’t just giving them ideas on how to help, but we’re also giving them the ability to put those ideas into action. We are giving them the resources to help them reach their goals,” said Cole.

 “Watching the teens go through this grant-writing process has been an amazing experience,” said Lynn Heil, Youth Action Council Coordinator at the Midland Area Community Foundation. “They have shown tremendous dedication to planning this conference down to the last detail—they are very invested in this cause. These youth know how to reach their peers with the message of stopping underage drinking. The bottom line is that the MCYACers want our community to be a safe place for everyone.”

 The “My Sober PROMise” conference will be held on March 7, 2009 at Northwood University.  “This conference will be a success if we even reach five people, because those five people can reach 5 more people who can reach 5 more people…and the message will be spread so that as a community we can make a difference,” said Morrissey. For more details, please contact Lynn Heil at the Midland Area Community Foundation at (989) 839-9661.