The Schuylkill County commissioners and Schuylkill Connects will host the annual Schuylkill County Youth Summit from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Thursday at the Penn State Schuylkill campus.

The summit continues to develop its basic mission to engage, equip and support county youth for the future. The summit will once again gather youth from all county high schools to engage them in making the county a better place for them to live, learn, work, play and raise their families.

This year’s Youth Summit will continue to address the interests and concerns expressed by students in 2022. In the fall of 2022, high school students were encouraged to complete a Youth Summit survey.

The survey had previously been distributed in 2013 and 2016, and its data assists with planning and implementation of Youth Summit.

Next week at the summit, students, staff and participating organizations will have the opportunity to address a panel of high school students and area professionals on what it means to live, work, learn and play in Schuylkill County.

The breakout sessions will have students working on one of the following topics:

• Community service opportunities in Schuylkill County.

• Storytelling.

• Self-advocacy.

• Civic and community engagement.

Students will design action plans, brainstorm community service projects in their communities and identify areas for collaboration with other school districts.

Participants will be encouraged to take the information back to their home schools to educate classmates on careers, opportunities and resources available in Schuylkill County.

“We are excited to work with the students and our future leaders, once again,” Schuylkill County Commissioner Gary Hess said. “By collaborating and sharing ideas in working to make Schuylkill County home for future generations to be successful.”

Mandy Fitzpatrick, Schuylkill Connects executive director, also is looking forward to the summit.

“This year, we have enrolled the assistance of Kat Stuerzl and Kate Zimmerman for facilitating the summit,” she said. “Kat and Kate have an amazing day planned and we look forward to giving students tools and resources to advocate for themselves, their families, communities and the county through the day’s conversations.”

The Youth Summit continues to be supported by the county commissioners and community leaders, who serve as an advisory group.

For information, visit www.skookyouth.com or contact Schuylkill Connects at info@schuylkillconnects.com or 570-622-6097.

Sponsors

Host: Penn State University Schuylkill.

Leader sponsor: Explore Schuylkill.

Platinum sponsors: Schuylkill Chamber of Commerce and Lehigh Valley Health Network-Schuylkill, part of Jefferson Health.

Gold sponsors: Schuylkill Economic Development Corp.; Schuylkill County Industrial Development Authority; Schuylkill County Municipal Authority; Ateeco (Mrs. T’s); and St. Luke’s Geisinger and Miners Campus hospitals.

Silver sponsors: Schuylkill County Conservation District; Hidden River Credit Union; Benesch; and Schuylkill Area Community Foundation.

Bronze sponsors: Schuylkill County Bar Association and Schuylkill YMCA.