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Sexual Consent Workshop at Saint Augustine’s UniversityThe “Sexual Consent” workshop hosted by EVOLVE Mentoring Inc. that was held at Saint Augustine’s University featured guest speaker Tracy D. Wright, a facilitator with the North Carolina Coalition Against Sexual Assault, an statewide agency working to end sexual violence through education, advocacy, and legislation. The engaging event designed for college students included a presentation, conversation, along with questions and answer from the students. Ms. Wright also shared her story on being sexually assaulted at a young age, which inspired her to do the work she does now, and emphasized the importance to receive consent before engaging in any sexual activity. Student participants received gift cards for attending as well as learned valuable information during the presentation.

Youth Vote Caucus Organized in-conjunction with EVOLVE Mentoring Inc., MBSK Wake County, Pack the Polls, You Can Vote, and other groups, over 200 High School students from Wake County Public Schools attended the nonpartisan voter education event held on February 10, 2022 at North Carolina State University – McKimmon Center.Overview: The Youth Caucus was designed for local high school students to receive presentations about North Carolina elections, and participate in facilitated discussions on voting followed by a voting simulation. The goal of the program is to prepare students to successfully cast their ballot in a real election by giving them information they need about the mechanics of voting along with a memorable experience to move voting forward with that information. The event also engaged students on how offices on the ballot in 2022 connect to issues they care about.Local college students served as volunteers during the voter education event, and received facilitator training in advance of the event on how to facilitate a discussion with younger students who will soon become the next generation of voters. The full voter education program ran from 9:15 am – 12:30 pm, and covered basic voting rules, what’s on the ballot, and information about nonpartisan guidelines. The college student volunteers facilitated small group discussions with the high school student participants. Topics also included the volunteers sharing their own experience registering to vote along with voting. While sharing their own voting stories, the event served as a great way for the college students to show high school students how someone close to their own age navigated the complex voting process.