Young People Honored

Sixty young people were honored on June 8 at the Nassau County Bar Association for participating in the Nassau County Youth Board's Youth Adult Participation Project (YAPP) and the County Executive's Youth Council. Representatives from over 25 school districts across Nassau County, including Aaron Anton and Allyson McClay of Garden City, were honored for their efforts.

YAPP is a youth empowerment/leadership program available to those between the ages of 13-19 living in Nassau County. Participants in the program commit to meeting with other young people once a week to affect social change in Nassau County through the community service learning process. YAPP volunteers design conferences pertaining to issues facing young people, conduct workshops in various school districts across the county and advocate for youth funding and programming in Albany. The volunteers also participate in collaborations with Hofstra University, the New York State Department of Health, Cornell University and the University of Rochester School of Medicine. Some of their most notable efforts include "Rock for Relief," an event supporting victims of the 2005 tsunami. They have also developed workshops for middle school students to help improve self-esteem.

These young people possess an intrinsic motivation to help others and an analytical mind, and are committed to creating a youth culture of responsibility, service and citizenship.

For more information on YAPP or the Youth Council, call the Nassau County Youth Board at (516) 227-7134.