Young stewards

Published 1:00 pm Monday, March 3, 2008

High school wasn’t enough for Ilena Adamson.

The 15-year-old Mill Creek native decided about a year ago that she had too much time on her hands. She’d been looking for opportunities to volunteer in her community when she stumbled across a newspaper ad for the city’s youth advisory board.

“Volunteering my time for the community is not something my parents pushed me into,” said Adamson, a sophomore at Jackson High School. “They supported me, because they’ve always been in favor of trying new things. This is something I decided to do on my own.”

Mill Creek’s youth advisory board was established seven years ago to offer children a chance to participate in city government and give back to their community.

Adamson and her fellow board members help out with city events and various programs through the parks and recreation department.

Over the weekend, board members staffed a booth at the annual Meet Me in Mill Creek Festival to answer questions about the city and promote a recently launched surface water quality improvement campaign, which encourages residents to use local car wash facilities instead of washing their vehicles at home.

“We’re setting an example for other kids in the community,” said Leah Miyamoto, 16, who’s served on the youth advisory board for three years.

“Our goal is to encourage more interaction between the city and youth in our community. It’s important that young people understand what’s happening here, because they are the future of Mill Creek.”

Miyamoto and Adamson want people to understand that teenagers are just as concerned about the world around them as adults are.

“I think you’d be surprised,” Miyamoto said. “A lot of young people want to help their communities, but they don’t know how to get involved. Hopefully, they will see through our work here that there are opportunities to volunteer their time and do some good.”

Whether it’s offering area parents an evening away from their children or helping city staff prepare for big events, recreation assistant and youth board advisor Chris Bailey said volunteers are learning valuable lessons about their place in the community.

“We’re showing them they can make a difference,” he said. “A strong relationship between the city and young people will result in more volunteers wanting to give back and say thank you.”

Adamson, who’s been on the board just under a year, recognizes more faces now when she walks down the street or makes an occasional trip to the grocery store.

People she’s only met once or twice wave to her from their cars — shake her hand at community events.

“I was kind of tired of the cliques in high school when I made the decision to join the youth advisory board,” she said.

“It’s been a lot of fun. We get to meet so many new people and help out with all the activities.”

To volunteer for or learn more about the Youth Advisory Board contact the city of Mill Creek at (425) 745-1891.