Contact Us

For more information, contact Chris Thomas
AYCE Coordinator

The City of Greenville, in partnership with the United Way of Greenville County, is embarking on an Authentic Youth Civic Engagement (AYCE) initiative for Greenville youth, ages 13-19. A framework is being created that will offer opportunities for middle and high school students to become engaged in every facet of our community.

In March, 2009, the City of Greenville and United Way kicked off the Authentic Youth Civic Engagement initiative with a celebration at the Carolina First Center. Close to 100 local adults and youth attended the kickoff, and after the opening session, attendees broke up into four teams: the School Team, the Neighborhood Team, the City Team and the Community-based Organization Team. Each team is comprised of both adults and youth, and will spend the next few months working to determine what AYCE opportunities currently exist in the community, where young people can make a positive contribution and what changes will be needed to ensure success. In June, each team will submit a report and those reports will be compiled to create an Authentic Youth Civic Engagement Plan, which will be submitted to City Council in July or August.

There are four teams organized in the City of Greenville:

City Team

A team of 15 adults and 15 high school youth will work together to identify and make recommendations for creating opportunities within city government where young people can make the greatest contributions to increase the quality and accessibility of services and supports that target youth and to have influence on the decisions being made.

School Team

A team of 15 adults and 15 high school youth will work together to identify and make recommendations for creating opportunities within the city’s public and private schools where students can make the greatest contributions to enhance the learning environment, improve scholastic possibilities and quality, increase safety, and improve classroom success.

Neighborhood Team

A team of 15 adults and 15 high school youth will work together to identify and make recommendations for creating opportunities within the city’s neighborhoods where young people can make the greatest contributions to make them safer, more supportive, and generally more youth friendly.

Community Based Organization Team

A team of 15 adults and 15 high school youth will work together to identify and make recommendations for creating opportunities within the youth serving organizations where young people can make the greatest contributions to increase the quality and accessibility of their services, support, and opportunities.