Get Involved

How can you make a difference in Utah?

Start small. Do you make your bed in the morning? Do you brush your teeth every day? Do you help to load the dishwasher? Do you help set the table for dinner? Do you help pick weeds in your yard? What are other ways you can help out around your home?

Now move to something bigger. Do you know your neighbors? Do you visit a neighbor who's lonely and doesn't have family nearby? Do you volunteer to pick weeds for someone who can't bend over very well? I bet you can think of other ways to help make your neighborhood a better place to live.

Okay, now think about what changes you'd like to make at your school. Talk about your ideas with friends and listen to their ideas. Maybe you'll have several ideas that everyone likes. Maybe you'll just have one that everyone can agree on. Talk to your teacher or principal and ask them how you can help make these changes in your school. Sometimes your ideas cost lots of money, but there are ways to raise money. Sometimes people don't want to take the time to make things happen. But YOU can make things happen! Just be persistent and patient. You can make a big difference in your school even if it does take days, weeks, or even months.

Imagine making things change on a state level. When you turn 18, you can vote for elected officials running for different offices. Legislators must decide how much money should be given to schools or fixing our roads, etc. Can you imagine listening to all the ideas of 40,000 people? Each representative the Utah Legislature represents that many people and listens to their ideas. Each senator represents approximately 77,000 people! Can you imagine those elected officials, all 104 legislators (75 representatives and 29 senators) working with other officials and citizens, listening to each other, debating, and compromising to finally decide on solutions that affect all Utah citizens? These officials discuss public policies throughout the year trying to find solutions to make Utah a better place to live. They are Utah's leaders.

You can be a leader too, now and in the future. So, get involved now! Remember, they started out as kids just like you, working on small projects and graduating to bigger projects. They want to listen to your ideas because you are important to them. Now, that's BIG!