Mental health, leadership and substance use will be among the topics of a virtual conference for youth that DCCCA (Developing Caring Communities Committed to Action) plans to hold in the first half of June.
The annual Kansas Youth Community Change Conference (KYC3) consists of 22 nightly weekday virtual sessions over a two-week period from June 1 to 15. It’s free, and it’s open to middle- and high school-aged youth in Kansas.
“The content really focuses on how we make positive changes in our community at the age we are right now,” said Lydia Fuqua, a prevention specialist at DCCCA and coordinator for KYC3. “How do we as young people learn about these things and raise our level of awareness to go out and be ambassadors.”
This year, the event will be entirely youth-led. Members of Kansas Youth Connect have been a part of the planning process from the beginning, starting with suggesting improvements to last year’s event.
Russell Spurlin, KYC3 ambassador, wanted the young people to have the ability to talk freely about the content of the sessions.
“I think that it is extremely important for teens to be able to talk to other teens about the presentation topics,” Spurlin, 18, said. “I am excited to hear from other teens talk about topics like inclusion, environment prevention, youth leadership and self-care.”
Participants will be eligible to receive a variety of prizes, ranging from a T-shirt for attending one session to a chance to win a Nintendo Switch for attending eight or more. Everyone who attends five or more sessions will receive a prize pack, pictured below.
Registration for all KYC3 sessions closes Monday, May 31. For more information and to register, go to dccca.org/events/2021-kyc3.
