TOPPC Youth Committee

The Oceana LEADS TOPPC Youth Committee, is a group of high school students from the four schools in Oceana County: Hart, Pentwater, Walkerville, and Shelby.  Originally established as a coalition to address drunk driving in Oceana County, the Youth Committee over the past five years has been responsible for planning the annual 3-county Youth Summit and other health and wellness activities. 
What we Offer:

1. Opportunities to work as a team on projects YOU care about.  Empower your peers to live healthy, substance-free lives and build a connected community where mental health is supported.
2. Get involved in making real change in your community and gain valuable leadership experience!
3. Earn volunteer hours and bulk up your resume for college or future employment.
4. Meet new people and have fun!

Meetings and Expectations - Participation will require attendance at monthly committee meetings which will be held during school hours.  Attendance at these meetings will be excused absences from school.  
Oceana LEADS understands that academic and school responsibilities come first.  But, given no school duties, we encourage TOPPC Committee members to attend all the meetings - they must attend at least 6 meetings out of the year to remain active.  Meetings are typically held on a set schedule 11:30am to 1:00pm with PIZZA provided for lunch.   
Transportation – Arrangements are to be made by the TOPPC Committee members, not Oceana LEADS.  They must get authorization from their parents/guardians if they are planning to drive themselves to meetings.  Proper school policies and procedures must be followed to transport themselves or others to meetings.  We will cancel meetings when weather conditions are unsafe for youth to travel.
Interested in Joining? Electronic TOPPC applications are sent out via each school in September.  Applications are typically due at the end of September and new members are notified within a week of the application deadline.  The first TOPPC meeting of the year is held in October. 

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Annual Youth Summit

The Youth Summit is for high school students in Mason, Lake, and Oceana Counties. This FREE event is hosted by District Health Department #10 (DHD#10) and inspired by The TOPPC Youth Committee and Baldwin Youth Advisory Council (YAC). TOPPC, YAC, and DHD#10 work hard to plan a one-of-a-kind day to empower local youth to think critically about personal choices and future ambitions, trends related to underage substance use/misuse, and the power teens have to impact their peers and community.
The Youth Summit is designed to:

• Build relationships among teens in Mason, Lake, and Oceana Counties.
• Increase students’ confidence in their leadership skills.
• Strengthen understanding of underage substance use issues and emerging trends.
• Empower youth to be visible, valuable, and vocal in their community.
• Champion the voices and engagement of youth in the work of underage substance use prevention.

Event Information:
Participants include approximately one hundred 9th-12th Grade Students from Mason, Oceana, and Lake Counties.  The event is typically held during the month of May in Mears, MI at Grace Adventures.  It is FREE for students & chaperones (including a light breakfast and lunch).  Transportation to and from the event is the responsibility of each individual school.  Each school is encouraged to send 10-20 students to attend.
Event Registration: 
Each school district will share via email and school announcements about the opportunity for students to participate in the annual Youth Summit.  This communication usually goes out around the beginning of March and students will have until early April to register.