Mount Pleasant Youth Council

TOWN OF MOUNT PLEASANT MOUNT PLEASANT YOUTH COUNCIL Thursday, December 9, 2021 5:00 PM Mount Pleasant Municipal Complex Council Chambers 100 Ann Edwards Lane, Mount Pleasant, SC 29464 Minutes Ms. Isabelle Turner called the meeting to order at 5:02 p.m. Cally DeMoura, Adam El Hassan, Garrett Griffin, Grace Griffin, Willa Jones, Geneva Kowbeidu, McClain Stoklosa, Caroline Tiller, Chad Weis and McKenna Young were all present. Graci Canon arrived at 5:14 p.m. 1. Public Comments Mr. David Seay stated grew up in Mount Pleasant and owns a business in town. He thanked the members for their service. He said he was blessed with amazing coaches in his life so he learned the power of leadership early. Mr. Seay said they run a boys camp in the summer called Soldier Week for Boys and there is a female counterpart called Girl Power. He said they would welcome any members of Youth Council that would want to speak to the group or become involved in the program. He said he loves basketball and said he and Coach Debbie Antonelli would welcome the opportunity to brainstorm ways to raise money for the basketball courts. He also said mental health is very important and he would be happy to support efforts regarding that issue. 2. Approval of the minutes from the November 4, 2021 meeting Ms. Turner moved to approve the minutes, seconded by Mr. El Hassan. All present voted in favor (Ms. Canon was absent for the vote). 3. Discussion regarding fundraising opportunities for the basketball courts Ms. Sims said she had sent the link to the GoFundMe page for the basketball court fundraising as well as the language to the Youth Council Members. She stated there is $200.00 in the account. She said a press release was published and it was pushed out on the  Mount Pleasant Youth Council December 9, 2021 Page 2 of 6 Town’s social media accounts. She opened up the floor for discussion on other fundraising ideas and strategies on how to share the information, and perhaps get in front of the media. Ms. Sims said she could put them in touch with the various media channels, set up a meeting or provide meeting space at Town Hall. Mr. Stoklosa suggested three on three tournaments as a way of fundraising and Mr. Weis stated that could potentially raise a good amount of money. Ms. Sims asked about the timeline and Mr. Stoklosa stated February when basketball season is over would be a good time. Ms. Turner concurred. Ms. Sims asked if anyone was interested in pursuing conversations with Mr. Seay and Ms. Antonelli. Youth Council Members responded in the affirmative. Ms. Sims asked about the efforts on sharing this information. Ms. Jones said she sent the information to her school and they said they would put it in the Raptor Report at Academic Magnet. Ms. Turner said Wando has something similar and she would send it to her contact to go out to the parents as well. Mr. El Hassan said he would do the same. Ms. Kowbeidu said she would send it to her principal. Ms. DeMoura asked if anyone had ideas regarding businesses helping out. (Ms. Canon entered at 5:14 p.m.) Ms. Sims said we need to avoid businesses that participate in recreation sponsorships. She said businesses can make donations, and there will be a plaque at the court recognizing the donors. Ms. Turner offered to make a spreadsheet to identify businesses, who would be contacting them, and also create a script to use when contacting potential donors. She said it could be difficult to raise money now because many businesses are struggling because of the pandemic. She suggested everyone contact ten businesses. Mr. Weis said US Brick in Columbia donates a lot of money and his friend’s mother is the CEO of the company so he will be talking to her about possibly donating to the basketball courts.  Mount Pleasant Youth Council December 9, 2021 Page 3 of 6 Mr. El Hassan said he will talk to the gentleman that raises money for pickleball. Ms. Turner suggested posting the fundraising information on NextDoor. Ms. Sims suggested also posting on mom groups on Facebook. Ms. Turner asked if they could do news interviews. Ms. Sims said generally you have to be invited, but part of that is having an introduction to see if it is something the local news channels are interested in picking up. She said Lowcountry Live may be a possibility, though that program is on when everyone is in school. Ms. Kowbeidu said Lowcountry Live would be a good one. Ms. Turner asked if they could get a list of the Recreation sponsors so they could avoid contacting them. She also asked if everyone could commit to contacting ten businesses before the next meeting. Ms. Jones asked if they could e-mail the businesses or if they should call. Ms. Turner said calling would be best. 4. Update regarding holiday card service project Ms. Sims said she is collecting cards from the schools for East Cooper Meals on Wheels and asked that the cards be given to her or dropped at Town Hall by December 21. She said that if any of the Youth Council Members had not had a chance to volunteer with Meals on Wheels, she suggested they do so. It is a very humbling experience. 5. Discussion and possible action regarding a letter in support of mental health resources Ms. Sims stated the original bill the Youth Council wanted to support has not been refiled. She said there were a couple of other bills out there but they did not have anything to do with mental health in the capacity in which Youth Council was interested. She said there are a couple of other options. A general letter of support with a specific ask could be written to the Mount Pleasant Legislative Delegation. She said another possibility would be to work with Leadership Charleston on a project in partnership with the Charleston Animal Society on a  Mount Pleasant Youth Council December 9, 2021 Page 4 of 6 Pet Buddies program where they take animals into local schools to assist with mental health. Mr. El Hassan said he would be in support of the pet program and he would still like to write the letter. Ms. Sims asked if there is a specific ask they would like to make and Mr. El Hassan asked if the idea was to put a mental health professional in each school. Ms. Sims said that is her understanding, that the bill was to propose funding for a mental health professional in all state high schools. Ms. Turner asked if it would be possible to ask them to consider refiling the bill and have continued support for budget money. Mr. El Hassan asked if the request would be to the school board, or to the state. Ms. Sims said it did not need to be state-wide, that it could be limited to the Charleston County School District. Mr. El Hassan said that would be a good start, and it could help the whole state if Charleston County School District agreed. (Mr. Stoklosa left at 5:32 p.m.) Ms. Sims said there is Charleston County School District as a whole and then Constituent District 2 which captures all of the Mount Pleasant schools, but would not include schools such as Porter Gaud. She asked if they have a preference as to where to send the letter. Ms. Tiller stated Academic Magnet has a school psychologist and mental health counselor. Mr. El Hassan asked if Lucy Beckham High School has a mental health counselor. Mr. Weis said he the guidance department addresses mental health in various ways. Ms. Sims said she spoke to the guidance counselor at Lucy Beckham High School and they did not have a certified counselor. Ms. Turner said Wando does not have one either, that they focus more on college and career readiness. Mr. El Hassan said it would be a good idea for Charleston County School District as a whole.  Mount Pleasant Youth Council December 9, 2021 Page 5 of 6 Ms. Canon said there should be more than one counselor if the school is larger. Ms. Jones, said if we ask for the bill to be refiled that would provide funding, but if we just ask the district, they would have to take funds from their current budget. It would be easier if the state would provide extra funds. Ms. Sims stated both the state and the school district have limited budgets. Ms. Kowbeidu asked if it would be more meaningful if a letter was sent to the Mount Pleasant state representatives to ask for an amendment on the bill before it is refiled to provide more counselors for the larger schools. Ms. Sims said she would follow up with the Municipal Association. Ms. Turner asked if we are going to request to refile the bill. Mr. El Hassan said he thought it would be best to start with refiling the bill. The other Youth Council Members concurred. 6. General discussion regarding other priority projects Ms. Sims said February 26 is the confirmed date for the Sweetgrass Half Marathon. Ms. Sims said at the January meeting, she would like to finalize the details for the fourth quarter service project which is the toiletries collection. She asked Ms. Griffin for an update. Ms. Griffin stated they are still working on getting the name finalized but they are moving toward hotels and should be ready to go out to the schools by spring break. Ms. Sims offered the Communications Department to assist with design for information to go out to the schools. She said she would reach out to Mr. Seay and Ms. Antonelli to schedule a meeting as well as check on court availability for fundraising tournaments. 7. Adjourn There being no further business the meeting was adjourned at 5:43 p.m.  Mount Pleasant Youth Council December 9, 2021 Page 6 of 6 Respectfully submitted, Christine Barrett Clerk of Council December 9, 2021