Senate Resolution No. 896

BY: Senator THOMAS

HONORING the Youth Change Leader Collaborative at
Baldwin High School upon receiving an Honorable
Mention in the Invent2Prevent National Competition

WHEREAS, It is the intent of this Legislative Body to commend and
pay tribute to those young people who, by achieving outstanding success
in educational competition, have inspired and brought pride to our
majestic Empire State; and

WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern, and in full accord with its
long-standing traditions, this Legislative Body is justly proud to honor
the Youth Change Leader Collaborative at Baldwin High School upon
receiving an Honorable Mention in the Invent2Prevent National
Competition; and

WHEREAS, The Youth Change Leader Collaborative at Baldwin High
School was founded in September of 2022 by a group of over 30 high
school students who aspire to be civic leaders; their organization
tackles and creates action plans on civic issues in their community; and

WHEREAS, This year, they participated in "Invent2Prevent," a
national competition which aims to empower schools and students by
challenging them to create and implement products, tools, and
initiatives to target issues in their communities; since
Invent2Prevent's inception in Spring 2021, more than 700 students have
participated in teams competing at the high school and collegiate levels
for awards of $5,000 for first place; $3,000 for second place; and
$1,000 for third place; top place collegiate-level finishers also have
the option to enter into a one-year sustainment program; and

WHEREAS, Sophomore, junior, and senior students from the Youth
Change Leader Collaborative at Baldwin High School, researched and
gathered data on five global issues: gun violence prevention, climate
justice, immigration reform, health equity, documentation and
journalism; they then created a civic action plan relating to these
areas of interest; and

WHEREAS, The students were required to participate in frequent video
calls with "Invent2Prevent" staff, and then elected to develop
curriculum based on a project, which focused on reducing gun and
interpersonal violence, while also producing a 30-page curriculum
report, a video about their project, as well as a 10-page research
paper; and

WHEREAS, Working with professionals in related areas of study, the
students collaborated with mentors from Amazon, Northwell Health, and
the Nassau County Bar Association, learning an abundance of information
which poised them for their placing in the top five, beating out dozens
of participating advocacy groups, colleges and universities, and high
schools; and

WHEREAS, This Legislative Body is moved to honor the Youth Change
Leader Collaborative at Baldwin High School, a body of outstanding

scholars, recognizing the value of their labors and the promise of a
bright future because of them; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
honor the Youth Change Leader Collaborative at Baldwin High School upon
receiving an Honorable Mention in the Invent2Prevent National
Competition; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be
transmitted to the Youth Change Leader Collaborative at Baldwin High
School.