YOUTH AMBASSADOR for the Franklin County Prevention Coalition Jadon Vanzant earned bragging rights this summer. Vanzant, a grad student at Middle Tennessee State University, working toward a degree in school counseling with the help of Emily Hooton, who will be attending Western Governors University, successfully planned and executed the recent Thrive Youth Leadership Conference at the Camp Rain facility in Decherd.
The conference, which began in 2020, was a collaboration between the Franklin County Prevention Coalition and Camp Rain to reach at-risk students in both middle and high school. Vanzant was the perfect candidate to fill the role of Youth Ambassador, due to his prior involvement in the conference over the past two years, and his previous attendance at both the Tennessee Teen Institute and the Tennessee Strong Conference. “Vanzant drove every aspect of the Thrive Conference,” says Jessie Sheehan, director of the Franklin County Prevention Coalition. “He fully led the conference, chose the speakers, planned the dates, scheduled training sessions, and handled all of the marketing. Vanzant is a youth himself, but he came in and led other youth, and it was the best conference we’ve had yet. It was truly magic.”
Representatives from prevention coalitions across the state, and teens attended the conference. “My favorite part was getting to interact with students and form connections with them,” says Vanzant. “Some of these kids just needed someone to listen and show they cared. I enjoyed getting to be that person, learning about who they are and who they wish to become. Without people in our community, the Thrive Conference could not have taken place. We also had organizations from the community to donate money for scholarships that paid for students to attend, that couldn’t have attended otherwise. Working for the coalition this summer felt like a step toward fulfilling my purpose in life. I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity I had to work with such amazing people and do things that have an impact on the lives of others.”
The Prevention Coalition also offers weekly activities at the Rain Teen Center located in Winchester. Teens are invited to attend every Wednesday and Friday from 5:30 p.m.-9 p.m. Activities include dinner, prevention programs, games, etc. “We want to develop leaders right here in Franklin County,” says Sheehan. “We are always telling our youth to be leaders, not followers. This conference and our
weekly activities teach them the tools they need to accomplish that. They learn how to find their voice, how to identify problems in their lives, and how to solve those problems.”
“I, by myself, cannot help every person in my community,” said Hooton, who worked for the Coalition this summer. “But with the people I work with and the resources we make available, we’re able to reach more people than we could if we worked alone.” GN
