PLANTERSVILLE, Miss. (WTVA) -- The Plantersville Youth Council was started in 2009 after Mayor Gloria Holland got the idea from Hattiesburg officials who started the program.
Now, new faces of the Plantersville Youth Council gathered Sunday afternoon at the Plantersville City Hall.
Already they are gearing up for what promises to be a big year.
"This is an active group of kids grades 9 through 12. And even though we do come together and meet, we've been seeing them sitting around the table interacting and talking. We do service projects and we take the kids to different places for leadership classes," said Holland.
Holland adds the group has visual proof via a scrapbook of all the projects they have worked on over the years.
"We do things like bingo for our assisted-living residents in the community," Holland continued. "Kids are very active with the Tupelo-Lee Humane Society by doing the adoptions at PetSmart. Like I said, we've done bingo, we raise money for our trips, and also for service projects that help the community."
Alderman Renee Morris is actively involved with the kids, too.
She sees what the Youth Council does for them.
"This is an awesome group. We have, like the Mayor had said earlier, about 20 youths from our community that are very active. They are learning about how to help other people in the community and how to value life and respect others."said Morris.
For the teenagers here in the Youth Council its a breath of fresh air as they say growing up in the town of Plantersville, its not always easy to find something to do.
But they Youth Council, they say, takes care of that.
That's why kids like Raven Foster have recently joined.
"I heard about all the great things that they do for our community, such as taking out food and giving it out to the people that are less fortunate," said Foster.
"I heard a lot about it. And when I got the mayor's note, I just wanted to join to help the community out," said Raven Childs.
"I helped the Youth Council to do the fundraiser, go on a trip and also [participate in] a trunk-or-treat with the Youth Council,"replied Adarius Sneed, a three-year veteran.
The group has been such a hit that even those not yet young enough to join are lending a helping hand, like Persha Childs.
"Whenever was the last time they were giving the boxes out, I helped them give the boxes out," Childs said.
Every year the group visits a different college campus for a youth summit, where they take part in skits and other technology-based activities.
