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As National Co-op Month comes to a close, co-op youth leaders are wrapping up a wide variety of service projects in their communities.
As members of the Youth Leadership Council, which consists of one representative from each of the 43 states participating in the Electric Cooperative Youth Tour, delegates are tasked with carrying out community service projects in partnership with their local electric cooperative.
“The Youth Leadership Council is all about helping the next generation of co-op members get involved in their communities and showing how co-ops live out the cooperative principles,” said Cale McCall, NRECA Youth Programs manager. “They took on a bunch of great projects, from hosting voter registration drives and organizing safety demos to putting together marketing campaigns highlighting Youth Tour.”
During this presidential election year, voter registration drives were popular Co-op Month projects among YLCsters.
In Mississippi, Maggie Martin, 17, got an early start on Co-op Month by working with sponsoring co-op 4-County Electric Power Association on a voter registration drive at East Mississippi Community College in Scooba. Martin and other co-op employees signed up about 50 new voters during the Co-ops Vote MS initiative Sept. 24.
“YLC has taught me that my voice matters, and I wanted to give people the opportunity to use their voices. So I decided a voter registration would be perfect,” said the high school senior.
Martin said the participating students seemed “grateful for the opportunity” to register.
Across the country, YLC delegates found a variety of ways to serve their communities:
Coat Drive in New Jersey
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As temperatures cool off, New Jersey high school junior Fred Ogrinz has been working with sponsoring co-op Sussex REC on a coat drive during the last two weeks of October. The YLC delegate set up donation points across the community—his high school, the co-op’s headquarters in Sussex and all branches of the public library. As a local radio station’s “student of the month,” Ogrinz went on the air to publicize the project.
Voter Registration Drive in Iowa
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Lucas Obert worked with co-op sponsor Guthrie County REC in Iowa on a voter registration drive Oct. 9 at the municipal building in Coon Rapids. “Many people were surprised that a person of my age had any interest in the government or politics at all, so I was glad to show that young people really care,” said Obert, who turned 18 this month. He also helped sign up some of his peers who also just became eligible to vote.
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Farmer Safety in South Dakota
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YLC’s Mallory Gant drew from her farming and ranching background to organize a safety demonstration at the FFA Land and Range Competition in Academy, South Dakota, in partnership with Charles Mix Electric Association. “I have always been reminded how dangerous farm equipment can be and how important taking your time and being safe is, and a refresher is always good to hear.”
Fire Extinguisher Training in Kansas
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Isabelle Jones had originally planned to honor lineworkers at Midwest Energy in Hays, Kansas, with a thank-you lunch. But due to scheduling conflicts, she pivoted to another safety-related project: fire extinguisher training during the co-op’s annual employee appreciation day.
School Sleepover in Michigan
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David Wahl has fond memories of a school sleepover at St. Mary Cathedral School in Gaylord, Michigan, and wondered whether it would be too old-fashioned for today’s screen-obsessed kids. But the “stuffie sleepover,” supported by Great Lakes Energy, was a huge success. More than 160 children brought stuffed animals to the event, which ended with a slideshow highlighting each “stuffie.”
