Just because the Botetourt Family YMCA was closed to the public earlier in the year due to COVID-19 didn’t mean that it was not busy. The Botetourt Family YMCA Youth and Family team spent plenty of time preparing their Model General Assembly team for their first big event.
The YMCA Model General Assembly (MGA) program was established in 1948 and is designed to introduce high school students to the legislative process of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Students are to define goals, research codes of Virginia, gather information and propose changes of state-wide bills.
The Botetourt Family YMCA started the MGA program in November of 2019, just shy of organization’s one-year anniversary. With help from local donors to cover funding, 12 students from James River and Lord Botetourt High Schools teamed up to create three bills that made it to MGA in Richmond to be passed. While the Modern General Assembly was slated to take place April 2-4 in Richmond, the event was moved to a digital platform due to COVID-19. Only four students were able to virtually attend including Riley Potter, Seth Spickard, Lucas Waid and Sarah Crane. During the MGA Candidate forum, the group presented three bills: Distribution of Health Products, Family Life Education and Identity Theft. In addition, student Riley Potter was chosen to represent Virginia at the Conference of National Affairs, also known as CONA.
For more information on how to get your family involved in Youth and Family programs, please visit https://ymcavbr.org/locations/botetourt/botetourt-family-ymca/.
