During the summer of my sophomore year I had the opportunity to participate in aviolence training program in my town. It was a unique and great experience whereI learned a lot about violence and abuse prevention that I have gone on to sharewith others. Also I met a lot of new people from my town. The training wasattended by adults from the Weymouth Youth and Family Services as well as highschool students. We spent three days learning about different techniques andsolutions on how to solve violence in school, at home and in society. At the endof the session I was contacted by someone from the Youth office and asked toparticipate on a Youth Council in Weymouth.

The Youth Council is made upof high school students from around the town who are concerned about violence intheir area. We meet every other week and plan projects to help our town.

In October we held a Halloween party for the children in Weymouth. Games,such as pin-the-wart-on-the-witch, costume contests, and dancing was all part ofthe fun-filled evening.

In December we had a peace walk at the annualWeymouth Youth and Family Services Christmas Celebration and donated board games,trucks and dolls to local children who were not going to receive any gifts fromSanta. The Youth Council is involved in many projects in the town, and we havefun helping others.

Serving on the Youth Council has made me more aware ofall that can be done for the community, I am glad to serve my community in anyway I can.