Tickets on sale for Cape Coral Youth Council Fall Gala
The Cape Coral Youth Council will hold its Fall Gala next Saturday at the Kiwanis Hall, featuring an evening of networking with the Cape Coral youth population, as well as businesses and political leaders.
The Fall Gala will be held from 5:30 to 10:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 14, at the Kiwanis Hall, 360 Santa Barbara Blvd. Tickets for adults, 21 years old and older, are $30 and student tickets, 20 years old and younger, are $5. They can be purchased at tickets.completeticketsolutions.com/CCC/Online/default.asp.
Gala Chair and Cape Coral High School Senior Amanda Benitez said they began planning the gala in February of last year with the date changing from the spring to the fall.
The Cape Coral Youth Council is an advisory council for the Cape Coral City Council. The council is comprised of one senior and one junior of every high school in Cape Coral, as well as one overall student who represents the students of the schools.
Discussions of the Youth Council have included the general obligation bond for parks, which the Youth Council supported, as well as the bus stop movement, for which the council is providing community service hours to clean up the benches around the schools.
Benitez said the gala provides an opportunity for the city youth to have networking opportunities with the rest of the community.
“It’s several generations of the community coming together,” she said. “It’s a debut for the Youth Council.”
The event will begin with networking, music by a string quartet, as well as speeches by the mayor and city council, as well as the Youth Council. There will also be entertainment and dinner for guests.
Money raised from the event will support Blessings in a Backpack, a charity that raises money to provide students with meals on the weekends.
“We have done a lot of work with them. All the proceeds from this event will go to the organization,” Benitez said.
She joined the Youth Council two years ago.
“I used to come to Youth Council meetings before I was elected,” Benitez said.
She said she enjoys sitting on a council with a group of students, all while being able to make changes in the community based on what is important to the youth population.
“It’s all about giving back to my community,” Benitez said.
The Cape Coral High School senior is in the IB program.
Once she graduates she hopes to go into international relations before furthering her education into law school where she wants to study human rights and international criminal law.