Community Vision San Benito County looks to gather youth
input
As one of its first projects, Community Vision San Benito County
has put out a youth survey to gather input from students in grades
seven through 12 on what they want to see for the future of the
community.
Julie Morris, the executive director of Community Vision San
Benito County, said the group was formed with the goal of looking
at ways to make San Benito a more attractive place. Morris said the
group is made up of a cross section representing businesses,
agriculture, natural resources and more.
Community Vision San Benito County looks to gather youth input
As one of its first projects, Community Vision San Benito County has put out a youth survey to gather input from students in grades seven through 12 on what they want to see for the future of the community.
Julie Morris, the executive director of Community Vision San Benito County, said the group was formed with the goal of looking at ways to make San Benito a more attractive place. Morris said the group is made up of a cross section representing businesses, agriculture, natural resources and more.
When the group members started talking about developing priorities, one of the early ideas was to talk with young adults.
“These people will be the leaders in the next 15 to 20 years,” Morris said.
The group worked with Gavilan College professors to develop the survey, which includes 23 items and should take students about 10 minutes to complete. Morris did focus groups at San Benito and Anzar High Schools to see if the questions worked for the target audience.
“The response was really positive,” Morris said, of the focus groups. “Most had never been asked what they thought and I think they were happy to feel people care what they think.”
The survey is available online at www.zoomerang.com/Survey/WEB22BKEMN7NVP and can be completed through Dec. 17. The survey has a mix of yes or no questions, multiple choice and some open-ended questions. Most of the questions ask students about what types of activities they participate in, what they would like to see in the future and what they see for their own future in terms of a career. One of the questions asks if they picture themselves raising a family in San Benito. The survey is available in English and Spanish.
“They are teenagers, and people don’t necessarily take them seriously,” Morris said. “But they are our biggest resource. They grew up here. There are some newcomers, but [most of them] have ties here. They have a history that adds to creating a future that is positive.”
Results of the survey will be announced in spring of 2011, and Morris said the goal is that they will be shared with local leaders and used to develop priorities for Community Vision San Benito County.
“Community Vision San Benito County’s mission is to encourage and facilitate the participation of all residents in decisions that improve our community’s quality of life,” said Gene Zanger, a member of the Advisory Board, in a press release. “This survey is the first step in engaging our youth in a countywide discussion about what we want San Benito County to look like in 20 years.”
Morris said the group has plans to host other forums for community input in 2011 to gather comments from other cross sections.
“Once we find out what some majority opinions are, we will sit down and see how to carry it out,” she said. “Another important thing is that the participants see some follow through.”
Community Vision San Benito County is a project of The Community Foundation. Other advisory board members include Gary Byrne, Dan Dungy, Damon Felice, Marilyn Ferreira, Scott Fuller, Colleen Johnson, Renee Kunz, Paul Levy, Joseph Morris, Mike Sanchez, Charlie Scott and Bonita Villalobos-Rivera.
For more information on Community Vision San Benito County, call 630-1924 or e-mail
cv***@cf****.org
. The survey can be found online at www.zoomerang.com/Survey/WEB22BKEMN7NVP.
