The Delaware County Office of the District Attorney recently donated $4,170 to the Chester Youth Collaborative to allow six members of the organization’s Youth Council to attend the Georgetown University National Training Institute in Orlando, Fla.

Delaware County District Attorney G. Michael Green met with members of the Chester Youth Collaborative’s Youth Council – all students at Chester High School – on June 30 at the Crozer-Keystone Wellness Center offices at Community Hospital in Chester. Green and the students discussed the trip as well as the possibility of working together on anti-violence initiatives in the future. 

The Chester Youth Collaborative works to strengthen and support out-of-school youth programs in Chester. The program was created by a $1.145 million grant awarded to Crozer-Keystone’s Wellness Center by the William Penn Foundation to implement a neighborhood-based youth development program.  

The Youth Council is a panel of youth who collectively represent the “youth voice” within the Chester Youth Collaborative. The Youth Council aims to change the perspective of Chester youth and inspire action in their community, as well as offer apprenticeships to youth who seek to enhance their knowledge in the field of youth development.

Sponsored by Georgetown University’s Center for Child and Human Development, the National Training Institute was held on July 12-15. At the Institute, the attendees learned more about how to develop and sustain effective community-based programs for youth.

Members of the Youth Council are putting their training to work. They are developing a youth-led leadership training called CYCLE (Chester Youth Council Leadership Empowerment Institute) to be launched this fall.

For more information about the Chester Youth Collaborative, call (610) 497-7422.