• By Shanika Gray
• Posted Wednesday, August 20, 2014

David Stevenson Jr. Boosts Leadership Skills & Civic Engagement at Citizenship Washington Focus

For more than 50 years, National 4-H Youth Conference Center has invited 4-H members from across the country to travel to Washington, DC and participate in civic workshops, committees, and field trips before returning home to make positive changes in their own communities. CWF not only strengthens young people’s understanding of the government’s civic process, but it also boosts their leadership skills, communication skills, and overall confidence.

David Stevenson Jr. learned about government processes in the vibrant, living classroom of the nation’s capital as part of Citizenship Washington Focus (CWF), an intensive 4-H civic engagement program for high-school youth held at the National 4-H Youth Conference Center in Chevy Chase, MD.

“Citizenship Washington Focus is an astounding experience which I will never forget and you can't leave CWF without taking a piece of it with you,” said Stevenson of his recent trip to the nation’s capital. Stevenson, is a 2014 graduate of Quality Education Academy and will be attending Catawba College in the Fall.

During CWF, youth get a behind-the-scenes look at the nation’s capital while meeting with Members of Congress to learn more about how their government works. At the end of the program, youth draft step-by-step action plans to address important issues in their communities. Stevenson has decided to tackle the issue of hunger and homelessness in Forsyth County. He will begin by creating a coalition of youth to volunteer at local shelters, while also collecting personal care supplies to distribute to local homeless citizens on an ongoing basis.

View photos from Citizenship Washington Focus.