New board member to speak for Youth Force

YOUNGSTOWN -- Newly elected Youngstown school board member Michael Write will provide a motivational speech during the third annual winter conference of the Mahoning and Columbiana Training Association's Youth Force Club.
Write will discuss bringing schools together while working to improve the community at the event, which is 5 to 8:30 p.m. Friday at the Maronite Center, 1555 S. Meridian Rd.
Also speaking will be Brandon Barnes, a Youth Force Club alumnus.
The club consists of juniors and seniors from the city's four high schools who had failing grades or failed their proficiency tests before being recruited. The program provides work readiness training, summer employment, job shadowing, mentoring and tutoring programs, assistance with summer school, and community service projects.
Another feature of the Friday event is a presentation of food-drive items to the Second Harvest Food Bank, for distribution to 200 organizations that feed the hungry in Columbiana, Mahoning and Trumbull counties.
The evening concludes with presentations of awards to Youth Force Club students who have accomplished academic, vocational and community service goals.