The Children's Trust Youth Advisory Committee (YAC), open to all Miami-Dade County high school students, serves as the youth voice of The Children's Trust. It is a leadership development program with a focus on service and advocacy, especially relating to children and families.
Formed in 2006, the YAC has grown each year in terms of numbers and impact. In 2018, The Trust expanded the YAC to include a total of 6 groups - YAC Central, YAC North, YAC South, YAC Far South, YAC West Kendall, YAC West. Approximately 120 youth are participating. While the groups meet monthly at separate sites, they share a common mission: to nurture the next generation of diverse change-makers by providing valuable life experience, by fostering essential character traits - responsibility, creativity, optimism, grit, among others - to create positive change within themselves, their communities and Miami-Dade County.?
In addition to regular meetings, we develop and execute service-learning projects and participate in field trips. YACers have an opportunity to attend a college tour while traveling to the Capitol in Tallahassee for Children's Week. This experience exposes YACers to the political process first-hand by meeting with legislators and hosting a townhall for youth across the state to bring to light the issues affecting their communities. For more information, write to us here.