Buckeye Youth Council presents community projects

From toiletry kits for unhoused teenagers to care packages for active-duty service members, the Buckeye Youth Council seeks to strengthen its community through senior and committee projects. Three representatives from the council presented their most recent endeavors to Buckeye City Council at its regular April 15 meeting.

The Buckeye Youth Council is a group of up to 19 Buckeye high schoolers, middle schoolers, charter school students and homeschoolers. According to its website, the council's goal is to "to empower young leaders and help develop and cultivate effective leadership skills. To do so, the BYC focuses on three critical areas of leadership development: character, community and communication."

Rock the Block Senior Project

BYC Chair Maleah Davis presented her senior project titled Rock the Block. She organized efforts for community members to paint small, palm-sized rocks to decorate local businesses on Main St., 4th St. and 6th St. Her goal was to use art as a way to bridge gaps between Buckeye residents and provide a artistic feature that was created by the community, for the community.

“As a teenager in our community, I’ve noticed a lot of our age generations can be a little divided between the older and the younger, there is a really big disconnect and I really wanted to promote them communicating with each other and something that could be across every group,” she said.

Davis worked with the city's art manager, Ilana Holden, to organize the project and received art supply donations from Cotton Blessings. She took the rocks to be painted by Buckeye residents at Cotton Fest, the senior center and at BYC meetings. In April, Davis dispersed the rocks to businesses, allowing each to select which rocks they wanted to display at their storefronts.

“I learned how happy it makes people to see themselves in their community,” Davis said. “It truly does bring a smile not only to my face but their face.”

Treats for Troops Senior Project

Verrado High School Senior Madelyn Guy also presented her senior project titled Treats for Troops.

“It’s a personal project that you embark on, something that you are passionate about,” Guy said. “And while you do have help from your fellow Buckeye Youth Council members, you are doing the project by yourself. You are planning everything by yourself and you are doing all the networking by yourself so that you can fulfill your passion.”

Guy partnered with Blue Star Moms and the American Legion to create care packages for active duty military service members. She posted flyers throughout the city and reached out to organizations requesting donations. She received support in the form of tangible and monetary donations from benefactors including individual city employees and West-Mec. The Buckeye Police Department gave a $500 donation for supplies, as well.

Once all the donations were assembled, Blue Star Moms helped put the boxes together. In the end, they totaled 25 boxes, six more than anticipated.

“I had a family friend who was at the event, he came up to me after the event almost in tears saying, ‘You know, I’ve been on the other side of this box. I know how much it means,’” Guy said. “That just really puts in perspective how helpful it is, especially seeing the list they had of their sons and daughters, their family members, that these packages were going to.”

She also received approximately 300 cards from elementary and middle school students which she dispersed amongst the 25 boxes so each soldier received multiple cards each. Guy said she hopes to continue expanding the project.

“We can be doing so much more to show awareness for the people that are always giving service to us,” she said. “So, I hope that this project can continue for Buckeye Youth Council, but also for the city.”

Civic Engagement Committee Toiletry Drive

The BYC Civic Engagement Committee project created 75 "Kindness Kits" for local teenagers who are unhoused. The committee team includes Guy and Davis along with Paisley Brown, Ivy Brown, Scout Sternfield, Price Hemphill, Jayden Bugarin, Lesira Kpea and Lizabeth Ortiz.

“We need to bring awareness because this is something that is a lot more common than we think,” Guy said, “and until it happens to someone close to us, we don’t realize it.”

The bags included donated items such as shampoo, mouth wash, soap and feminine products. Each also contained contact information for resources and information about the BYC. The completed bags were given to local school nurses to be dispersed to students in need.

“We’re doing this so that we can really connect with our youth,” Guy said. “We want to bridge that gap and we want to make sure that these bags are being sent to someone we know they’re going to help and that’s the whole point of our project to connect with our youth and address a need.”

Community of Culture Art Walk

At the end of their presentation, BYU Community Outreach Committee member Madalynn Accomazzo invited the council and community to the upcoming Community of Culture Art Walk. The event will be April 26 from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Sundance Park. The event's goal is to celebrate the diverse cultures of Buckeye residents. Culturally inspired appetizers will be provided by Fresh Fitness and there will be music and crafts to make and take home.

The BYU Community Outreach Committee includes Leerabari Kpea, Madalynn Accomazzo, MacKenzie Bartholomew, Paige Black, Haylee Mosher, Hanna Hernandez, Raelynn Miller, Natalie Eng and Jasper Sternfield.