Ways to get involved 

1. Attend an upcoming Youth Commission Meeting

Students in 7th - 12th grade and the public are invited to attend regular Youth Commission Meetings. Meetings are held at 6pm on the first Wednesday of each month between September - May. The FY 2024-25 Meeting Schedule is located here. 

All students are invited to provide school reports or information about your school activities or events. If you are interested to learn more, please email YouthCommission@toaks.org. 

Past Youth Commission events include:

1. 2024 Youth Leadership Summit - BE THE VOICE 

THANK YOU TO ALL THE YOUTH AND COMMUNITY LEADERS WHO PARTICIPATED IN THE 2022 YOUTH LEADERSHIP SUMMIT ON MARCH 13, 2024! IT WAS A TREMENDOUS SUCCESS! 

The event brought together 21 leaders and over 60 youth from the City of Thousand Oaks. The program included Leader Roundtables, Youth-Only Roundtables, and a Keynote Address. Topics discussed included: ways to address substance use, ways to decrease stress, and improve mental health; issues of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion; how to enjoy social media and ways to deal with inappropriate or fake content; how schools can better meet the current and future needs of students; how to increase recycling and improve the environment; among many others. There were a lot of important conversations that took place and many positive outcomes. Here's what the Youth are saying:

 "I feel more informed on the City and other organizations. I am very happy to know my voice is valued."

 "It made me realize how much we had to improve on, but also how much we are doing to improve the community."

"It made me realize that everyone in Thousand Oaks is working towards a better future."

"It showed me the insider perspective of some of the leadership roles and opportunities in our local government."

"I feel more connected and knowledgeable about the City."

"It helped me feel motivated and more connected with like-minded youth."

 Next steps: The Youth Commission will prepare a report of the 2024 Youth Leadership Summit to present during their Annual Report to City Council. It is anticipated the report will take place at one of the City Council meetings in June 2024. City Council Agendas are posted at least 72 hours in advance of the meeting at www.toaks.org/agendas.

2. 2023 Coastal Cleanup

 On Saturday, September 23, 2023 the Youth Commission joined local efforts at Borchard Park to pickup more than 100 pounds of trash and recycling. The Coastal Cleanup Day is California's largest annual volunteer event where people across the state join together to clean our creaks, rivers, lakes, coast and shorelines of all kinds, to help restore our environment. 

3. 2023 Spreading Art Awareness

This committee purpose was for the youth to bond and express their creative freedoms within a positive environment. Creating art pieces of your own helps build self-awareness and improve self-esteem. It was meant to be a positive and exciting learning experience for the youth to explore and to be themselves. Art can promote freedom of creative expression, which can help the youth to relax and think differently. Anyone can make art, and there are so many different art forms, which can help the youth to gain independence, confidence, and self-esteem.

The committee planned and hosted an interactive art booth at the City of Thousand Oaks Arbor Earth Day Celebration on April 15, 2023. The YC provided recycled materials and facilitated an activity where attendees created vision boards. The theme was mental health and the environment, envisioning a future to aspire toward

4. 2023 Youth Trash Clean Up Day

This committee purpose was student engagement and education.  Environmental activism and promoting policies that limit pollution, was one of the concerns of the youth presented at the 2022 Youth Leadership Summit and is a priority of the Youth Commission. 

In FY2022-23 the committee planned and hosted a Youth Trash Clean Up Day event on Saturday, April 29, 2023. 27 students and 5 adults participated in this beautification project along Moorpark Road between Avenida de las Flores and Lancer Way. The event cleared dead organic matter and trash from the side of the road to help clear the area for stormwater runoff, prevent fires, and reduce pollution. 

Youth Commission

Agendas posted 72 hours in advance of each meeting

Thousand Oaks Library

Alex Fiore Teen Center

  T. O. Transit

 Ventura 211

Conejo Unified School District