Brighton Youth Commission looks to create volunteer corps

    BRIGHTON — Brighton Youth Commission is proposing the formation of a volunteer corps as a solution to the growing interest in the commission.
    During city council’s Jan. 8 study session, members of the commission asked city council to pass a resolution creating BYC Youth Corps at a future board meeting.
    According to Vice Chair Seth Armentrout, space on the commission is limited and as the popularity of the youth commission has grown with the community, it has also grown with the youth and more and more youth are applying each year.
    “We have to reject a lot of very, very qualified candidates and that limits our manpower,” he told council.
    Commissioner Katie Congrove said due to the type of projects they’ve had the opportunity to be a part of, there’s an increasing demand for the Brighton Youth Commission’s services and that unfortunately, due to the lack of manpower, they’ve had to turn down a couple of projects they would have really liked to have been a part of.
    Commissioner Cole Worth said the goal of the corps would be to alleviate the workload on the Brighton Youth Commissioners, which would allow the commissioners to have a stronger presence at community events.
    The Brighton Youth Commission Youth Corps would target youth between the ages of 11 and 19 who have a desire to serve Brighton as well as be part of the youth commission. Those interested in joining the youth corps would have to fill out an application and participate in a formal interview, volunteer a minimum of four hours per month, have a flexible schedule and be willing to represent the Brighton Youth Commission and the City of Brighton with a respectful attitude.
    City council members were receptive to the idea, with Rex Bell, Chris Maslanik, Cynthia Martinez and Mayor Dick McLean expressing their support for the youth commission.
    “The youth in this community, if there’s anybody in any of the high schools or middle schools who don’t know about the youth commission, they are going to now, because you are going to make sure of it,” McLean said. “You’re going to enlist more members, and it’s just going to grow.”