Creating opportunities for future generations in the Mountain State will be the focus of theRaise Your VoiceCommunity Issue Forum Monday, April 12, at West Virginia University.

WVU student leaders, in cooperation with WVU ’s Office of Service Learning and West Virginia Campus Compact, are hosting the event, which is set to begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Mountainlair Rhododendron Room.

TheRaise Your Voicecampaign, made possible by a grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission and National Campus Compact, enables students to pick their own topic and lead a community discussion. This year’s topic is how to make West Virginia a better place for young people.

Members of the Morgantown and surrounding communitiesespecially city leaders, school board members, student organization presidents and high school government representativesare encouraged to get involved and make a difference.

Four students will serve as moderators. A video, which breaks down the issues, and a take-home discussion guide are also part of the program.

To prepare for the forum, a team of students spent several months interviewing people in the community about job opportunities, cultural issues, community involvement and the ongoing problem ofbrain drain.

In addition, students were trained as moderators by WVCC ’s partner organization, West Virginia Center for Civic Life, in Charleston during February. The students involved in the project also helped to pass a resolution at the state Senate in support of student service learning.

This is about grassroots democracy, getting students more engaged in the world around them and using the grant to do something to make a positive change,said Kelly Regan, WVCC program assistant.

At the end of the day, we want to come up with a community action project based on what comes out of the discussion,she added.

She hopes to have the project under way by September.

WVCC is based on the WVU downtown campus. The organization is one of 30 state members of National Campus Compact and, to date, includes Marshall University, Fairmont State College and 11 other campuses across the state.

WVCC ’s mission is to serve as a coalition of colleges and universities to promote a commitment to public and community service, develop a lifelong service ethic, and work to cultivate service opportunities for students and develop academic programs and public policies that encourage and support community service.

Since 2001, it has granted more than $100,000 to member campuses to support service learning. To learn more, go to http://www.wvu.edu/~wvcc .

Regan may be reached for interviews at 304-293-8761 ext. 4482.