Teen Center youth seek funds for conference

Four youth who frequent the Anderson Teen Center announced Wednesday their plans to attend the Youth to Youth leadership conference in July. Three of the teenagers went to the conference last year and more are looking to attend for the first time.

"From what they tell me, it sounds awesome," Dylan Van Buren said in response to the variety of activities nine Teen Center youth engaged in at last year's conference.

"The way the counselors presented everything was amazing," Bryan Slater said, adding that classes included dance, college preparation and theatre.

The main focus of the conference empowers youth to engage in social activities that are free of drugs and alcohol, said Senior Project Coordinator at Anderson Partnership for Healthy Children Melissa Peterson.

To get to the 4-day conference in Southern California, the youth must raise funds to defray the $400 expense per person which does not including transportation, Peterson said.

On June 10-11, the youth will hold a car wash at the Anderson New Technology High School parking lot from 3-7 p.m.

On June 14, 5-7 p.m., they scheduled a Patriotic Pancake Dinner at the Anderson Community Center in city hall, 1887 Howard St. The dinner would feature strawberry-topped pancakes for $7. Prizes and gift certificates from local merchants would be on-hand to encourage donations.

Last year, the group from the Anderson Teen Center raised $3,400 to attend the conference.

"This is the best conference of its kind available," Peterson said. "The teens that went to the Youth to Youth conference last year came back with their eyes open. They got to experience a piece of the world outside of the bubble they always lived in. In the process of stepping outside their comfort zone, they discovered confidence and came back inspired, with a lot of enthusiasm and motivation. So I am always excited to see youth attend leadership conferences, whether it be Youth to Youth or other conferences later this year."