Annual Youth Congress will focus on real world problems

Improving the quality of life outside the United States' borders will be the focus of the 23rd Annual Youth Congress, scheduled for March 31.

Youth Congress is a program sponsored by the Conejo/Las Virgenes Future Foundation (CLVFF) to promote youth leadership, camaraderie, participation and discussion for local high school students.

Twenty high school students who are members of the group have been planning the event since December, said Fran Brough, CLVFF director. After brainstorming a variety of topic ideas, students selected "Outside Your Bubble- - The Real World."

Three organizations will be featured guests at the congress. Invisible Children, Roots of Peace and Operation Footprint were chosen for their work in impoverished countries.

Invisible Children is a nonprofit group focused on stopping the kidnapping of children as young as 5 who are forced to fight as soldiers in a longstanding, brutal war in northern Uganda, a region of Africa. The mission of Roots of Peace is to rid the world of landmines by transforming minefields into farmland. Operation Footprint provides shoes for Haitian children in need.

The event will be conducted at Oaks Christian High School in Westlake Village from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Attendance will be limited to the first 125 students who respond. Parents are welcome, but not required, to accompany their teen.

Several local nonprofit organizations and agencies are participating in the event. Brough said the organizations will present their mission to a high school audience with the intent of encouraging students to volunteer.

Participants include the Agoura Hills and Westlake Village libraries, Conejo Recreation and Park District, the Wellness Community, Cardiac Kids Have Heart, Senior Concerns, My Stuff Bags, Thousand Oaks Health Care Center, Teens Against Genocide, the Amanda McPherson Foundation, Neighborhoods for Learning, Support for the Kids, the American Cancer Society, and Rotary Clubs of Agoura Hills/Oak Park and Westlake Village Sunrise.

Students are asked to bring either canned goods or small stuffed animals in good condition to be donated to Manna and Operation Footprint. Each item, up to a total of five, will be exchanged for a door prize ticket.

Lunch will be provided by the Thousand Oaks

Kiwanis, ROMiOS Pizza & Pasta and Cisco's. Each year leaders from area high schools are selected by school administrators to plan a forum of interest to their peers. This year's chair is Sable Muntean, a senior from Viewpoint School. Students on the planning committee include Aaron Blum, Heather Lutz, Hayley Kramer and Gabriela Giron (Thousand Oaks High School); Zoe Frank, Rachel Dubowe, Shelby Samovar and Mia Johnson (Agoura High School); James Cassell, Lauren Radke and Dan Nelson (Oaks Christian High School); Kesha Dorsey, Michele Grogin and Myriah Harris (Calabasas High School); Kelly Feiweles, Meagan Norling-Christiansen and Kristen Bennett, (Westlake High School); Tera Lutz (La Reina High School); Barry Rodich and Ryan Riggs (Oak Park High School), and Johnny Short and Derek Montes (Conejo Valley).

The planning committee members are charged with determining the format of the congress, publicizing the forum at their schools and suggesting speakers and adult guests who can address their topic and contribute to solutions.

CLVFF trustee Daniel Quisenberry is in charge of a team of adult advisors. The team includes Brough, Pat Croner of the College Match, Skip Shaver, former Thousand Oaks High School counselor, and Jan Iceland, Oak Park School District board member.

"This year's Youth Congress will be very helpful for high school students who are community oriented, who are looking to add civic activities to college resumes, and/ or are looking to fulfill a commitment to community service hours," Brough said. "This year students will participate at the congress by doing a craft project to be donated to the My Stuff Bags Foundation, and will write letters to government representatives to encourage the support of peace talks in Uganda."

Brough said the congress is seeking additional financial support from local businesses, as well as donations of door prizes suitable for high school students.

Vouchers will be given to students to validate their attendance and participation in the congress. Interested students should call the CLVFF office at (818) 8801054 by Mon., March 26.