High school sophomores and juniors from over twenty York County high schools learn to become lifelong, responsible, active participants in their hometown community. Participants develop leadership skills and lasting relationships with each other and community leaders. The program runs from October through May.
Through interaction and problem solving with peer and community leaders, students:
Learn about York County government, business, human services, and cultural arts
Meet students from other York County schools
Develop leadership skills
Discuss issues with community leaders
In addition to a Saturday retreat and 6 weekday sessions, the students perform community service projects, meet with established community leaders, participate in a community leader networking session and learn about informed giving and grant-making, both in theory and in actual practice.
Application Process
Students are selected by their respective school districts in late spring for participation during the following school year, and represent most public and private high schools in York County.
High school personnel are encouraged to look beyond typical school leadership criteria when selecting participants in order to identify previously untapped leadership potential.
The tuition for participating students is $500, and is covered by the sponsoring school. This fee does not, however, cover the true cost of the program, and Leadership York relies on the generosity of York County's business and philanthropic community in order to offer this training in community involvement for our youth.
Students interested in becoming a Future Leader of York should apply through their high school guidance office.
FUTURE LEADERS OF YORK PROGRAM AWARDS GRANTS TO THREE NONPROFITS
Thirty-five high school sophomores and juniors from 22 area high schools recently completed Leadership York’s Future Leaders of York program.
The program helped the students develop their leadership skills, such as building consensus to solve problems. It also introduced them to community leaders and educated them about how our community functions.
As part of the program curriculum, the students learned about all aspects of the grant process and were tasked with creating their own grant where they would ultimately award $5,000 in grants to area nonprofits, thanks to funding from the York County Community Foundation and United Way of York County. The class developed the field of interest, selection criteria, and process for requesting proposals. Eight nonprofit agencies submitted requests totaling over $28,000, making it a challenging task. The students presented checks to the following organizations at graduation: Catholic Harvest Food Pantry $2,400, House of Hope $1,500, and Junior Achievement $1,100.
“Future Leaders of York instilled in me the concept of philanthropy at a much earlier stage in my life compared to the rest of my peers. As I reflect on where I am now with my career and my involvement in the community, I definitely credit FLY as being the main contributor of my passion to serve the local community. ”
“Because of Future Leaders of York, I am prepared to lead in the different organizations and positions I will have in the future. Also, I am prepared to help other young people to become leaders themselves with the knowledge I gained from the program.”
