Skip to main content

Youth Voice One Vision: The Mayor's Youth Advisory Council

Image
YVOV Logo

 

Communication, Determination, Respect, Teamwork: That is YVOV!

Youth Voice, One Vision is a group of young people who represent the voice and issues of the youth in Rochester as the Mayor’s Youth Advisory Council. We are working together to create opportunities, events, and activities that inspire change, and unite our community positively!

Get at least $1,500 for the program year! 

Leadership Board

Executive Committee

Are you interested in learning more about the inner workings of City Hall? Are you ready to help build an action plan to help bring the priorities and concerns of youth in the City of Rochester to the forefront of community conversations? Are you interested in helping clarify the communication between the adults and youth of Rochester? Then join our team. While part of this team, you will have the opportunity to:

  • Facilitate Youth Voice, One Vision Full Council Meetings for 60+ young people
  • Plan and facilitate the county-wide annual youth leadership conference Steppin’ Up to Solutions (Collaboration with Professors/Students of the Community Youth Development Program at Nazareth University).
  • Interact and share information with City Council members and other elected officials
  • Walking various Holiday Parades alongside the Mayor
  • Act as a liaison between R-centers and leadership groups
  • Create and announce City-wide resolutions that support youth

Qualifications

  • Currently or previously a member of a youth leadership group that is civically engaged in Rochester
  • Ages 13-19 years old
  • Able to make a two-year commitment with yearly evaluations
  • Available for 2 monthly meetings on Wednesdays from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
  • Available for a 2-day orientation retreat

Notes: Transportation to and from meetings will not be provided. No prior experience developing strategies or action plans is needed. Training will be provided.

Community Engagement Committee

Do you have a strong sense of community? Are you willing to support Rochester’s growth through fun and engaging activities and learning experiences? Joining the Community Engagement Committee is a step towards advancement through:

  • Planning and organizing various events, networking activities, and quadrant training for adults and youth

Qualifications

  • 13-19 years old
  • Able to make a two-year commitment with yearly evaluations
  • Available for 2-3 monthly meetings on Wednesdays from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
  • Available for a 2-day orientation retreat

Note:  Transportation to and from meetings will not be provided. No prior experience developing strategies or action plans is needed. Training will be provided.

Public Safety Committee (Rochester Police Department)

Are you interested in learning more about the inner workings of the Rochester Police Department and the Criminal Justice System as a whole? Are you interested in being a part of the solution when it comes to issues affecting the criminal justice system and working to bring solutions in the ongoing effort to improve police-youth relations in the City of Rochester? Then join our team. Selection to this committee will be based on residency within the various quadrants of the City of Rochester. While part of this team you will have the opportunity to:

  • Meet with local law enforcement leaders around the Greater Rochester Area.
  • Meet with leaders from the criminal justice system and have the opportunity to lend a voice to create solutions to identified issues.
  • Learn about career opportunities within the Rochester Police Department and related fields in the criminal justice system.
  • Serve your community by being a youth representative and having the opportunity to advise the Rochester Police Chief on issues affecting our city.

Qualifications

  • 13-19 years old
  • Able to make a two-year commitment with yearly evaluations
  • Available for monthly meetings on Zoom or at the Training Center or Public Safety Building
  • Available for a 2-day orientation Retreat

Note: Transportation to and from meetings will not be provided. No prior experience developing strategies or action plans is needed. Training will be provided.

YLCB Application

Youth Leadership Groups at the R-Centers

Several of the City of Rochester’s R-Centers have active Youth Voice, One Vision Youth Leadership Groups. Each R-Center leadership group has a different focus, depending on the interest of the young people involved, but all centers work to create youth-led experiences that strengthen the knowledge and leadership skills of our young people. Each center-based Youth Leadership Group is coordinated by City of Rochester Recreation staff members. A list of centers with active Youth Voice, One Vision Youth Leadership Groups is listed below. To sign up for a Youth Leadership Group at an R-Center, click the R-Central button below.

Register Now by clicking the button below!

R-Central

About R-Central Online

  • Create individual and family accounts and register as an R-Center member
  • Search a comprehensive catalog of programs, camps, activities
  • Register and pay
  • View athletic league standings, schedules and other team information
  • View, reserve and pay for rentals of lodges, ballfields, courts, rinks and other recreation amenities
  • Receive DRHS program and activity information

For help with signing up with One Stop Roc, click here.

Take our survey!

Youth Voice One Vision (YVOV): The Mayor's Youth Advisory Council, in collaboration with the Wilson Foundation, will lead a process to develop peer-lead/youth to youth Mental Health Workshops. The teams' newly established Youth Mental Health Board is working on these surveys with youth and adult advisors. This survey will help to develop topics for the workshops based on the community's needs.

Take the survey

 

Join our team!

YLCB Application

 

Special Events and Initiatives 

Youth Voice, One Vision sponsors monthly citywide special events for youth and families. Special events include dances, workshops, training, conferences, community service projects, and celebrations and fundraisers.

Steppin’ Up To Solutions (SUTS) Youth Conference: YVOV R-center Executive Board and other youth leadership groups attend various workshops and present on their Service Learning Project.

The Steppin’ Up To Solutions conference began in 1996 as a forum for youth and adults from across Monroe County to collectively develop practical solutions to local issues of concern. At this all-day summit, youth and adult teams learn how to create, fund, and implement service projects that address an identified community need through the Steppin’ Up To Solutions step-by-step group planning process. To date, YVOV has sponsored over a dozen conferences that have included Steppin’ Up to Solutions planning sessions as well as youth designed workshops focusing on topics such as advocacy, social media, and stereotyping. 

C.A.R.S (Creative Activity and Research Showcase) Partnership with Nazareth University

Awards

  • 2008-2009 Nazareth College Center for Service Learning Community Partner Service-Learning Champion Award
  • 2008 New York State Recreation and Parks Society Special Events Award (All City Fashion Show)
  • 2007 Genesee Valley Recreation and Parks Society Special Events Award (All City Fashion Show)
  • 2006 National Youth Crime Watch Prevention Community Program (Site of the Year)
  • 2006 Genesee Valley Recreation and Parks Society Special Events Award (All Star Challenge)
  • 2005 Alliance for Community Media First Place for Educational Profile Non-Professional (Talk Show)
  • 2005 Genesee Valley Recreation and Parks Society Special Events Award (Gardiner Mural Painting)

For more information, contact Tremain Harris, Youth Leadership Coordinator, at 428-6360 or Tremain.Harris@CityofRochester.Gov.