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Editorial: Youth engagement

As local journalists, one of the best parts of the job is shining a spotlight on programs and opportunities that exist for people to get involved, give back and shape the community.
Airdrie Our View_text

As local journalists, one of the best parts of the job is shining a spotlight on programs and opportunities that exist for people to get involved, give back and shape the community. Some of these programs are well known, but often, they fly under most residents' radars.

Programs exist for Airdronians of all ages, but this week our reporters worked on three stories specifically involving youth. One is the City of Airdrie's Eco Youth Awards, which grants students funding to launch or support local environmental projects. Another was the Airdrie Youth Volunteer Corps' push to collect food donations and construct a creative sculpture for a North America-wide contest. Finally, when profiling an upcoming volunteer opportunity to help clean up Highway 567 on Oct. 3, we learned one-third of the volunteers that helped Volunteer Airdrie Society with its recent cleanup along the Queen Elizabeth II Highway Sept. 19 were youth.

It's exciting to see Airdrie's teenagers and children presented with opportunities to get involved, and even more exciting to see them meet the call. To often, young people are looked down upon as mischievous, delinquent troublemakers. The abundance of youth volunteers refutes that notion.

It's also refreshing to live in a community that places a high value on youth engagement. To paraphrase Mara Pratt with the City of Airdrie, who spoke to us about the Eco Youth Awards, these programs give local youth a say in the future of their community and a present opportunity to make Airdrie a great place to live.

To our young readers, we encourage you to take ownership of your community. Participate in local programs and volunteer opportunities that are geared towards your age group.

To our older readers, we implore you to make the young people in your lives aware of the local opportunities that exist for them to do some good. Further, when they do, make sure to recognize their contributions. Youth engagement is a positive thing for the community and it deserves to be celebrated.

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