Healthy RC Youth Leaders, started in 2011, give teens an active meaningful voice and empowers teens to represent their peers to take action and promote a healthier community. This unique program provides students with the leadership experience and local government knowledge to work on issues that matter to them. The Youth Leaders work on developing policies and initiatives to promote health living. Youth Leaders meet twice a month during the academic school year at City Hall. Applicants must be 12-17 (middle or high school) to apply. We encourage students who want to make an impact in their community to apply today!

Join Youth Leaders if you want to:

Work on issues that matter to youth
Promote healthy living
Work with City officials
Develop communication and leadership skills that will enhance your confidence and personal growth
Participate in trainings and conferences
Learn about local government
Represent Youth Leaders in local, regional, and national platforms
Build your resume and gain career experience
Have fun!

Watch Recruitment Video

Applications are now open close in August 2022.

1. Turn in applications including the “Written Evaluation Form”: August 18th by 6 p.m.

2. Applicant interviews: week of Monday August 29- September 1st

3. Applicants notified if they are selected: by September 5th

First meeting with September 7th

Apply to Youth Leaders

Healthy RC Youth Leader Initiatives

Evaluating Health Priorities

Teens learn how to engage community residents through park assessments, farmers' market surveys, and evaluating at community events. Healthy RC has eight health priorities that are being evaluated with the help of Youth Leaders. Teens learn how to analyze and share data collections to decision makers at Council meetings and our health collaborative meetings.

Annual Teen Summit

The Teen Summit is an empowerment day, where high school teens come together during spring break and talk about issues affecting their community. We invite dynamic presenters, present engaging activities, and have fun creating a safe space for teens to talk and feel heard about teen issues. Connect with resources and make new friends. Get inspired and attend the next Teen Summit!

March 25th, 2020
9-4 pm
Central Park, 11200 Base Line Rd.

Teen Mental Health

Youth Leaders are leading the way on strategies for destigmatizing mental health in the teen community. They have created the Your Mind Matters awareness campaign and have served as panelists for the city-wide Mental Health Symposiums of Cyberbullying and Suicide Prevention. They have created a public service announcement to build a culture of starting the conversation about teen depression, anxiety, and stress and have won 1st place at the Directing Change Competition.

Professional Public Speaking Opportunities

Youth Leaders learn the skills in order to deliver a speech or a presentation with confidence! They get the unique opportunity to build the knowledge and background for public speaking and receive feedback from City staff and Toastmasters International Club members. Every year Youth Leaders present at Council meetings and at events and conferences throughout the year.

Community Engagement

Teens attend events throughout the community and have fun engaging with the community and building inclusive neighborhoods. Youth Leaders get involved in hands-on community initiatives, such as CommUNITY Paint Day at Los Amigos Elementary School. This initiative brought together families to build an intersection mural project to improve safety in the southwest Rancho Cucamonga neighborhood.

Develop Policies alongside City leaders

Youth Leaders get the experience of developing and passing local government policies. They have been part of the process in developing policies that affect the quality of life for the community, including city-wide Nutrition and Beverage Standards, Farmer' Markets and Community Garden Zoning, Complete Streets, and an ordinance to update smoking policies to include e-cigarettes and vape pens.

Awards and Recognition

The Youth Leaders Program has received awards and recognition on improving the health of the community. We have received regional, state-wide, and national awards for the policies and programs they have developed to make healthy eating and active living accessible to all in Rancho Cucamonga. Individual Youth Leaders have also been nominated and were awarded state-wide recognition for being outstanding volunteers in community health.

Using Data for Action | 2020 Youth Leader Research Projects

Vape Policy Research Group

The Vape Policy Research group created maps to determine the distribution of smoke shops in the city and how this is an equity issue because of their proximity to schools in certain neighborhoods. Check out their policy recommendations to City Council and see their interactive strategies on address vape awareness to the teen community.

Vape Policy Presentation

Mental Health

The research project team dived into teen mental health data and shared how Rancho Cucamonga teens are by affected suicidal ideation and mental health conditions. In order to break the stigma and connect resources to teens, they created a mental health resource post card that was distributed to students, teachers, and counselors throughout the city. They also created mental health check-ins for teens to provide support groups for the mental health. Check out their presentation and their recommendations to city stake-holders!

Mental Health Awareness

Equity and Inclusion

Our community is diverse and welcomes people from all backgrounds.The Equity and Inclusion research group decided to understand the needs of non-English speaking populations by connecting with the English Conversation Club at Archibald Library. They delved into how how city services can better serve their their needs. They developed strategies to improve communications and provide a welcoming environment at city facilities. Check out their project recommendations here!

Equity and Inclusion presentation

Healthy Eating

Youth Leaders are helping improve communication and create bilingual content for our Healthy RC CASA Cooking Class. They have been able to connect thousands of residents to healthy recipes to make the healthy choice the easy choice.

Recipes for Healthy Eating

Environmental Action

Sustainability is a value that is important for our Youth Leaders! They created a plan for refill stations and recycling at Alta Loma High School with the help of community surveys, awareness campaigns, and educational tools. Taking local actions for global solutions is key and we are looking forward to spreading this initiative further throughout the city and across more schools.

Taking local actions for global solutions

Addressing Teen Homelessness in Rancho Cucamonga

Youth Leaders have addressed strategies for increasing connections and resources for teens experiencing homelessness. In partnership with the One-Stop Ontario Transitional Aged Youth Center, they were able to develop informational postcards to distribute across the city. Check out how they use data to inform the needs of teen experiencing homelessness.

Teen homelessness data for action

Youth Leaders