MCCOY Goes to the White House

Well, almost. It was an invitation to a White House event held at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. But still, it was an invitation from the White House!

I had the privilege of traveling to Washington, DC last Tuesday to hear more about how President Obama and his administration want to involve youth in advocating for the issues that they care about. This event, broadcast live on the White House's website, was the first in a series called "How to Make Change" which is based on the results of the 100 Roundtables with Young Americans initiative that the President initiated this past spring.

MCCOY was one of 384 roundtable discussions held in 46 states, DC and Guam. We were also one of only 105 which had an official representative from the White House. The results of our roundtable discussion with youth from Central Indiana were directly in line with the national results. The top three concerns of youth in Indiana and across the nation - education, violence and the economy.

The White House is now looking to partner with youth and the organizations who hosted roundtables to make change and create solutions in their communities. In the next few weeks, the Administration will publish an E-book that will compile the results of the roundtable discussions and outline recommendations for solutions. MCCOY hopes to utilize this information in it's Youth Advocacy Council.

More details will follow, but I and all of MCCOY are excited about all of the possibilities that this new endeavor will bring to central Indiana! Onward and upward!