Hey Youth MOVErs! Zo here!

YMPA has had a busy start to the new year! Last week, we headed to Beaver County to attend their Youth Ambassador Program event. We had a great time meeting an impressive group of high schoolers who are doing awesome work to promote mental health in their communities.

Also, we got to meet some sweet therapy dogs :)

We've also been busy with our get-to-know-you interviews for the applicants to our brand-new Advisory Council. It's been a real treat getting to meet so many of you! We're hoping to make our final decisions soon and have our first Council meeting by the end of February. We can't wait to get started with this first step toward making YMPA a more youth-led, youth-driven organization.

I also can't WAIT for an exciting project we're launching soon - our new Discord server!! If you don't know what a Discord server is, it's basically like a big group chat where people with a shared interest can gather together online. Chris, our Youth Coordinator, has been hard at work building the server to be a place where young people in Pennsylvania who are passionate about mental health can come and connect with one another and find resources. The server will be invite-only for Youth MOVE PA members and will be moderated by our staff for safety.

Well, that's pretty much it for now! I'm feeling grateful to be a part of this awesome team and I'm excited for what we'll accomplish in the coming year.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a great rest of your day!

- Zo