Iron Mountain-Kingsford Youth Advisory Committee receives new training

IRON MOUNTAIN, Mich. (WLUC) - Four Iron Mountain and Kingsford students are going into the new school year with new knowledge.

The Iron Mountain-Kingsford Youth Advisory Committee (YAC) is a part of the Dickinson Area Community Foundation.

The committee is made up of Iron Mountain and Kingsford High School students who award grant funds and volunteer in the area.

In June, four members traveled to Central Michigan University to meet with other Youth Advisory Committees across the state. The Council of Michigan Foundations put on the conference.

Three of the four members are juniors at Iron Mountain High School.

“I would definitely say it brought a lot of new information and ideas to our YAC, just because we got to experience something so much bigger than us,” said Iron Mountain High School Junior Annaliese Lucas.

“Meeting new people from different, bigger areas kind of put it into perspective how much our monetary value matters more because we have a tighter-knit community than the bigger areas,” said Iron Mountain High School Junior Veronica Stanchima.

The Committee reviews and awards grants to youth-related programs in the area. Last year, the Dolly Parton Imagination Library received $7,500 and the Dickinson Amateur Hockey Association got $3,920.

“It’s really a place where we can take our youth and let them know how valuable they are to our community,” said Iron Mountain-Kingsford YAC Adviser Kaye Miziniak.

The Dickinson Area Community Foundation sponsored the students’ conference trip.

“The Community Foundation is all about making a difference in our community and positively affecting where we live and work,” said Executive Director Tamara Juul. “These kids are true leaders of the future, so we’re very proud to sponsor their attendance at the leadership conference downstate.”

Miziniak also said she would like to see more students become involved in the Youth Advisory Committee.

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