(BINGHAMTON, NY) Broome County Executive Jason Garnar and a panel of County judges heard from local high school students today about how they would better their communities. Teams from schools throughout Broome County participated in the friendly competition to receive funding for their projects.
The County Executive issued the challenge to all Broome County high schools.
“It has always been a priority of my administration to hear from young people about what is impacting them and encourage them to be involved in their community,” said Garnar. “Their perspectives are important to making Broome County better and I wanted to give them a boost in putting their ideas into action.”
Based on the scores from the panel of judges, Deposit Central School District and Johnson City Central School District are the first winners of the County Executive’s Challenge for Change. They were each awarded $1,500 to implement their projects.
After talking to their neighbors, Deposit students developed a detailed plan to partner with the Village of Deposit to provide a peaceful memorial square to honor fallen heroes from Deposit.
Johnson City students focused on the concerning number of students who start the school year without the required immunizations. Their project would partner with UHS to provide immunizations at school during the first few weeks of the new school year.
The runners-up were each awarded $500 to implement their projects.
“I’m excited to see these projects impact our local community with help from Broome County,” said Garnar. “We will definitely be keeping up with these bright students next year!”
