A Joint Initiative Between     Heart of Wisconsin     Business & Economic Alliance and     Community Foundation of Greater     South Wood County

Home About Us B2B Club Breaking News Contact Donate Events / Programs Feedback Ideas Incubator Industry Clusters Links / Resources Progess Funds Progress Teams Public Art / Murals Publications		Breaking News February 15, 2005 - Youth Rally lets kids have a voice On Jan. 10, we attended the first Youth Rally, where kids gave ideas of what they would like to become a reality in our community. We were part of a planning committee, which started meeting in October. The results of those planning meetings were totally great because the rally, held at Assumption High School, had about 80 or more kids from schools throughout our south Wood County and town of Rome schools attending. Everyone was excited after listening to a speaker from Australia, David Beurle of Innovative Leadership. He is the same speaker talking to our community's adults involved with the Community Progress Initiative. At the rally, Mr. Beurle put us in teams to come up with new kid ideas we want to see in our community. Then we voted on the ideas. Here are some of the ideas getting the most votes: 1) Youth involvement and representation with our city's Common Council; 2) Public transportation for kids; 3) Getting kids more involved in our community like allowing kids more freedom to do some things at a younger age, helping clean up the environment and asking store owners what it would take to get some things here that kids would enjoy like the skateboard park, teen center, etc. The rally has given kids a united voice. Besides pizza and ice cream, a lot of door prizes were given away. A lot of people made this rally happen, and businesses to be thanked are Bath & Body, Bring's Cycling & Fitness, Trailhead Bike & Skate, Culver's, Staples, Pepsi-Cola, General Bottlers, Northland Cranberries, WFHR Radio, Public Access, ShopKo, Daily Tribune, Younkers and Taco Johns. Thanks, also, to Assumption High School for holding the rally and to Jill Cavanaugh of the Heart of Wisconsin Business & Economic Alliance, and Mary Wirtz of the Community Foundation of South Wood County. For more information, please call Jill or Mary. We are lucky to have a community that cares about our ideas and will help us make it a reality. There will be future meetings, and all kids, fifth grade and up, can come and make a huge difference. SAVANNAH GACHNANG MALLORY VILLENEUVE Seventh grade ELLERY ORR Sixth grade Immanuel Lutheran School Wisconsin Rapids
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