Mount Vernon youth council wins $85,000 foundation grant to expand civic program

Deborah Butler, director of the Mount Vernon Youth Bureau, told the City Council work session that the bureau’s Youth Empowerment Advocacy Council, known as YEAC, has been awarded a competitive foundation grant worth $42,500 a year for two years, a total of $85,000. The grant award is on the council docket as a referral for formal acceptance.

The grant will fund a revamped civic‑engagement track for teens the bureau described as a move from volunteerism toward active participation in government. Butler said the program will include training, mentorship and planned site visits, and that YEAC members will host a mayor’s town hall this fall.

Assistant (presenter identified in the meeting as “Infante”) described the YEAC as “a civic engagement arm of the Mount Vernon Youth Bureau” and said participants meet weekly and have shown sustained commitment. Butler asked that council collaborate with youth participants when they present recommendations and noted many of the participants attended meetings before the grant carried a stipend.

Council members expressed support for placing youth at the table with standing committees and said they plan to coordinate shadowing opportunities so young participants can follow department work and council committees. The mayor and other city officials were noted as supportive during the presentation.

The council agenda lists a formal referral to accept foundation funds from the New York City Community Trust and its Westchester advisory board to support YEAC expansion; the work session presentation served as background for that referral. No final vote on the referral was recorded during the work session.

The youth bureau asked for a photo for reporting requirements and said the grant will be included in the bureau’s accountability reports to council.