A central Illinois non-profit is seeking youth in DeWitt and Logan Counties to be a part of a philanthropic group aimed at supporting their communities.

The Illinois Prairie Community Foundation's Youth Engaged in Philanthropy is seeking high school students in DeWitt and Logan Counties to participate in next year's program. Michele Evans with the IPCF indicates currently they primarily have students from McLean County but they really would like DeWitt and Logan County students to be a part of the program.

Amanda Cole is the mentor for the Youth Engaged in Philanthropy program. She indicates most of their 14-member group this year is made up of seniors. She explains despite the pandemic, the students have been very active virtually, and that virtual component has been a big development in their ability to continue to operate through the COVID pandemic.

Aashish Thakur is a senior at Normal Community High School and has been in Youth Engaged in Philanthropy for three years. He has grown a great deal in those three years and encourages high school students to step up and be a part of a group that gives back to their communities.

Youth Engaged in Philanthropy yearly distributes $10,000 to youth-based non-profits in DeWitt, Logan, Livingston, and McLean Counties. Jasmyn Jordan says that process though is only a small part of what she has learned in her four years in the organization.

The 2021-2022 school year will be the ninth for YEP. The group will be limited to 20-25 participants. The online application is available at http://www.ciyep.org/membership-application-1 and must be completed by April 3, 2021. Individuals selected to be a part of the 2021-2022 YEP group will be notified in May. For more information, contact Cole at amandal.cole@yahoo.com or through the IPCF office at 309-662-4477.