The City of Seattle’s Department of Neighborhoods has an exciting upcoming opportunity for youth ages 11 to 25 to make a real impact in their communities.

Youth Voice, Youth Choice is a new Participatory Budget (PB) Initiative that allows youth to decide how to spend $700,000 of the City’s budget that is allocated toward community-minded grant opportunities. PB is a democratic process where community members directly decide how a portion of the public budget is spent to engage people who have not historically been involved in government or the budgeting process.

The first gathering is Jan. 28, 2016 at Meridian Center of Health at 10521 Meridian Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98133. It will be the first of seven meetings around the city.

No RSVP is required. Youth ages 11 to 25 are encouraged to attend and make their voices heard.

The Youth Voice, Youth Choice process involves four steps. First, community members will brainstorm ideas of projects they would like to see happen in the communities. Second, youth volunteers will transform these ideas into concrete proposals with the help of City staff. Third, Seattle youth will vote on which proposals they want to see put into action. Fourth, the winning proposals will be funded and implemented by the City of Seattle and local agencies.

Grants will range from $25,000 to $300,000, depending on what our youth vote for. Encourage civic-minded young people in the city of Seattle to attend one of these seven meetings!

Learn more about the Participatory Budget process. If you have further questions, please contact Rahwa Habte at (206) 615-2008 or Rahwa.Habte@seattle.gov.