Our Future Leaders

By Melissa Ann Melendez

To address these challenges, Lake Elsinore must engage our youth and our entire community. We must develop new ideas for how the community as a whole can work together to make Lake Elsinore a better place for our youth not just for today, but for future generations as well. By taking community input and holding strategic discussions about youth-oriented activities, facilities, programs and partnerships, we can build a solid plan of action.

A youth-centered plan, to be effective, must involve parents, guardians, teachers, youth-serving organizations, the City Council, The Board of Trustees of the Lake Elsinore Unified School District and community leaders.

My goals for this program are to:

-Support a family-friendly atmosphere.

-Provide an increase in opportunities for our youth to give back and be actively engaged in their community.

-Inspire, involve, and build partnerships among our youth and their community.

How do we accomplish these goals without dipping into the budget? Simple: focus groups, community workshops and adult and youth questionnaires. These methods are basic, economical, and enormously effective. We must remember that investing in our youth is an investment in our community.