United Way Teams Up with EMPOWER for Mug Cooking Event

unitedway portercountyOn Monday, June 8, United Way of Porter County (UWPC) teamed up with EMPOWER Porter County to hold a cooking event for members of UWPC’s Power of Youth council and EMPOWER PC’s Youth Steering Committee. The event was held at the Lakeside Wealth Management Group office in Chesterton, Ind.

Students were taught how to cook dorm-friendly meals out of a coffee mug with live demonstrations from Mackenna Schon, UWPC Director of Volunteer Engagement, and Kaye Frataccia, EMPOWER PC Program Manager, in order to help prepare recent high school graduate members for college. Each student was given an oversized coffee mug and a recipe book to take with them.

“Every year it is difficult to say goodbye to our senior members,” said Schon. “They’re an amazing group of students and accomplish a great deal throughout the year. This fun event was a great opportunity to not only celebrate the senior members’ hard work, but to strengthen connections the students have with one another while preparing the seniors for the next chapter in their lives.”

The Power of Youth Council is a UWPC program made up of high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors from every Porter County high school that demonstrate a dedication to service and leadership. Throughout the year, members connect with local nonprofits, plan fundraisers, and recruit volunteers for events.

Members of the Power of Youth council include Austin Rocha - Boone Grove, Lyndsey Pratt - Boone Grove, Josh Otero - Kouts, Tiffany Miller - Washington Township, Luma Khabbaz - Valparaiso, Kayla Malackowski - Chesterton, and Haydn Malackowski - Chesterton.

Similar to the Power of Youth Council, The Youth Steering Committee is also made up of high school students from every Porter County high school to help EMPOWER PC with their initiative – to reduce substance abuse throughout Porter County. Through monthly meetings and a variety of activities, the objective of the committee is to discard several of the negative connotations associated with teen behavior in the community.

Members of the Youth Steering Committee include Mona Sehgal – Valparaiso, Drew Paul – Valparaiso, Sydney Basden – Valparaiso, Austin Rocha - Boone Grove, Kayla Malackowski – Chesterton, Kate Conway – Chesterton, Hannah Wozniak - Union Township, Mickayla Edmaiston – Portage, Mary Cobble – Valparaiso, Hailey Morgan - Union Township, and Kaylee Slont - Chesterton.

For additional information, contact Mackenna Schon at mackenna@unitedwaypc.org or Kaye Frataccia at kfrataccia@empowerpc.org.

United Way of Porter County leads, unites, and inspires our community to improve lives. United Way invests in 3 core strategies: Education, Financial Stability and Health. We help nearly 40,000 Porter County residents per year build better lives. For more information, visit www.unitedwaypc.org, www.unitedforchildren.org & www.nwivolunteer.org or call 219-464-3583.