It’s not easy to build a young leaders program. In years past, our organization has worked hard and struggled to engage local youth. Now, we are struggling just to keep up with them.

When Veniece Miller, a local high school student who attended our annual People’s Lobby trip in March, asked if we had any summer internship opportunities, we knew we couldn’t turn her down. Nor could we turn away the dozens of local young people who have surfaced since then, looking for ways to make a difference in 2018.

During our in-depth community assessment last year, two issues continued to rise to the forefront of our conversations: 1) increasing our emphasis on civic engagement and 2) creating space where younger people can plug into Western Colorado Alliance. And after analyzing the voting patterns on the Western Slope, we decided the best approach would be to combine these two issues by creating a youth voter registration program.

Through our Youth Voter Initiative, our goal is not to persuade local youth to vote for a particular party or candidate, but to view voting as a right and a responsibility, always. And in remembering that the messenger is as important as the message, this program is being built by local students.

Please consider making a donation to help our Grassroots Democracy interns be successful this fall. And, if you know a student who might be interested in becoming a Grassroots Democracy intern, she or he can go here for more information.

In the first month of her internship, Veniece has led the way in researching and identifying the right voter registration program for our students, traveled the state to meet with the experts and held meetings with young people who are excited to take on the role of Grassroots Democracy interns.

These students officially launched the program during the 4th of July parade in Grand Junction while riding in and walking alongside their “Vote Boat” float. While several students, including one dressed as Captain America, cooled off a hot and willing crowd with water guns, many more walked through the crowd, wearing t-shirts they designed and registering people to vote.

With a successful kick-off event, our Youth Voter Initiative is underway! The students are now preparing to bring this program into their schools for the 2018-2019 school year. With 17 students already signed up, our goal is to train at least 25 students in Mesa, Montrose and Garfield Counties to register students in nine local high schools.

These students represent the whole political spectrum, and are working together to ensure they use their voices in the years to come.