Young Leaders in Action

Young Leaders in Action is a collaborative effort between the Volunteer Center of Cedar Valley, the Community Foundation of Waterloo/CF and NE Iowa, and Cedar Valley's Promise. The program is designed to develop leadership and citizenship skills by equipping teens with tools to become proactive and to take leadership roles in their communities.

Youth grades study Sean Covey's The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens and learn leadership and character-building skills. Additionally, adult facilitators assist the youth in planning and implementing an annual fall and spring leadership conference.

The primary goal of the program is to provide youth with a set of proven tools to deal successfully with real life. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens are essentially seven characteristics that happy and successful teens the world over have in common. The program provides youth with a step-by-step framework for boosting self-image, building friendships, resisting peer pressure, achieving goals, improving communication and relationships with parents, and much more. The habits build upon each other and foster behavioral change and improvement from the inside out.

Youth Leadership Conference

The purpose of the leadership conference is to develop the knowledge, skills, and understanding youth need to become effective leaders within a culturally diverse community. Through a series of seminars and high energy activities, the conference serves to increase youth knowledge and expand fundamental leadership skills. The materials and training that the youth receive give them a set of proven tools to deal successfully with real life.

Conference goals include the following:

  • Increase participants' understanding of the concept of leadership;
  • Increase participants' understanding of and appreciation for cultural diversity;
  • Increase participants' awareness of themselves and how they relate to others; and
  • Provide opportunities for participants to apply the knowledge, skills, and understandings through meaningful service to the community
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