Teen Involvement in the Nashville Community

This year’s recipient, Gabrielle Cash, wrote about youth community engagement and ways students can empower others. Congratulations, Gabrielle!

Teen Involvement in the Nashville Community

By Gabrielle Cash

A significant issue that currently afflicts my community is teen involvement in political and community events. Most of my peers are unaware of the power their influence has in our community now and years to come. I discovered the weight of the impact I have on my community in 11th grade, after I joined the Mayor’s Youth Council. This program allows me to reach a multitude of students with different background around the Nashville area in order to get them involved in the Nashville community. We have hosted several events that aim to do just that.

A most recent event that was held was the Voter Registration Block Party.  Tennessee, unfortunately, has a poor reputation of low you voter turnout, so we formulated a plan that would be appealing to the youth in our community.  We hosted a party on the evening of Halloween.  While there, people could vote at one of the many polls that were available.  Afterwards, they were welcome to stay and participate in fun games, raffles, a mock election, and even a little dancing. It was a great turnout; we were able to get around 100 youth to vote and even more to register, so they would be able to vote in the next election.  Due to this event and many events similar around Tennessee, we were able to increase youth voting by over 700%.

Another program that gets youth involved in the community is National Honor Society. As an officer, I am responsible for researching and choosing one community service project per month, so that we will be actively doing our part in the community. For the month of November, we raised $200 for 2 less fortunate teens at our school for their families to eat for Thanksgiving. In December, we are planning to help Angel Tree sort toys to give out to those who need them. As a reward for participating for said community service projects, we are hosting a holiday party where students can eat, make holiday cards, and have a good time.

I believe in order to get teens involved we must first promote as much as we can from using school announcements to using social media to post details about the events. Next, we must engage them and relate each event to their lives. One of the most repeated phrases I hear when I ask my peers why they don’t participate in community service is: “Because it’s boring.” If we can show them how community service can be an enjoyable experience, because it helps them and others, then we would gain many more participants. Lastly, I think incentives are key. In society, some refuse to engage in activities simply because it will not benefit them in any way. We must incentivize those actively taking part in community and political affairs to show that adults are taking notice to the good those teens are doing while also encouraging them to continue to do well. Using this method will undoubtedly increase the amount of teens participation in community and political projects in the Nashville area.

Congratulations Gabrielle!

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