Mount Pleasant Youth Council

TOWN OF MOUNT PLEASANT, SOUTH CAROLINA MOUNT PLEASANT YOUTH COUNCIL Thursday, January 28, 2021 5:00 PM Mount Pleasant Municipal Complex Council Chambers 100 Ann Edwards Lane, Mount Pleasant, SC 29464 Minutes Ms. Massenet called the meeting to order at 5:06 p.m. Youth Council Members Walker Carswell, Cally DeMoura, McClain Stocklosa, Abby Sullivan, Eliza Taylor, Isabelle Turner, Chad Weiss and Isabel Raykova were all present. Mr. Myles Chisolm and Mr. Ethan Curb were absent. 1. Public Comments Town Council Member Guang Ming Whitley thanked the Youth Council Members for serving. She stated that the Council Retreat was held earlier in the week and one of the items discussed was visioning for the Recreation Department. Council would like to get the youth of the Town more involved. She suggested maybe the Youth Council Members could host a hackathon to study the Recreation Department and come up with some ideas which then could be presented to Town Council. 2. Approval of the minutes from the December 17, 2020 meeting Ms. Massenet moved to approve the minutes, seconded by Ms. Taylor. All present voted in favor. 3. Update and continued discussion regarding priority projects  Mount Pleasant Youth Council January 2, 2021 Page 2 of 7 Ms. Toni Smallwood and Ms. Colleen Vaughn gave an overview of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). Discussion was held as to what the Youth Council can do to promote NAMI to high school students. Ms. Smallwood asked about mental health clubs. Ms. Taylor stated her school had one, and Ms. Turner stated that Wando High School is starting a mental health club. Ms. Smallwood stated they are hoping to host an in-person walk event at Wannamaker Park and suggested the Youth Council encourage their peers to participate in the walk, make signs, take pictures and videos. The in-person event will be on the first Saturday in October, with a follow-up virtual event on the second Saturday in October. Ms. Vaughn stated they will be looking for volunteers to help with the walk and other events. Ms. DeMoura thanked Ms. Smallwood and Ms. Vaughn for coming to the meeting and starting the conversation. Ms. DeMoura said she would love to have NAMI participate in assemblies at the schools.  Mount Pleasant Youth Council January 2, 2021 Page 3 of 7 Ms. Turner said her school has weekly announcements and outside organizations are able to provide information about upcoming events which would be a good way to get the information out about their events. Ms. Miller said she would follow up with NAMI to get the information on events and volunteering. Ms. Miller stated another group, Smash Glass, could not attend the meeting this evening but wanted to get information on their mental health arts program to the Youth Council Members. Ms. Miller stated she put together some demographics on the ancestry with the highest percentages in the area.  Mount Pleasant Youth Council January 2, 2021 Page 4 of 7 Ms. Miller stated she met virtually with Special Events Coordinator Nicole Harvey and the Seafarers representative. The cultural fair will be held on April 24th, the day before the Blessing of the Fleet so the Memorial Waterfront park will already be set up with tables and  Mount Pleasant Youth Council January 2, 2021 Page 5 of 7 stages. She asked the Youth Council Members what they would like to see at the fair. Ms. Turner said the top three or four priorities should be music, dance, food and non-profits that are centered around the idea of bringing cultures together. Ms. Miller said this event is scheduled to be an in-person event and asked what types of music, dance and non-profits would be preferred. Discussion was held and it was suggested that different types of cultural dance, food trucks with cultural food, and groups that represent different ethnicities should be contacted. Ms. Miller stated the Recreation Department has many contacts. Ms. Miller reviewed the information for the Oyster Bed Re- nourishment event scheduled for March 13th.  Mount Pleasant Youth Council January 2, 2021 Page 6 of 7 Ms. Miller stated she was contacted by the League of Women Voters and asked if the Youth Council Members had interest in learning how to get involved. The Youth Council Members concurred that they would like to hear more information from the League. 4. Follow up discussion regarding posts for youth council social media Ms. Miller asked for an update on the spotlight on members. Ms. Turner asked the members who had not done so to please send her their updated information by the end of the day on Friday. She said she would also like to film a vlog after the meeting to post on social media. Ms. Massenet said it would be good to get in contact with the student governments of the various schools to start conversations about their events that could be promoted on the Youth Council social media pages. Mr. Carswell suggested posting things that the Youth Council does and Ms. Miller said perhaps there could be social media posts about the upcoming cultural fair to ask for ideas as to what the area students would like to see at the fair.  Mount Pleasant Youth Council January 2, 2021 Page 7 of 7 Ms. Turner and Ms. DeMoura suggested livestreaming the meetings on social media. Ms. Turner said she knows how to livestream and asked if it was permissible to do so. Ms. Miller said she would check and let Ms. Turner know. 5. Adjourn There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 5:47 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Christine Barrett Clerk of Council January 2, 2021