Conference draws hundreds of African-American teen leaders to Anchorage

Three hundred teens from several western states were ready to conduct business by 9 a.m. Friday at UAA. Sharply dressed and businesslike, the group broke into caucuses, then reconvened for a vote on their community service theme for the coming year.

This week, UAA is hosting the 63rd annual teen conference of Jack and Jill of America Inc., a nationwide organization that aims to foster African-American leadership skills and instill a sense of civic duty. This is the first time the teen chapters of the western region have gathered in Alaska, according to Anchorage resident Vara Allen-Jones, the national program director for Jack and Jill. Allen-Jones is also a professor of counseling at UAA.

"To have it here at the University of Alaska Anchorage, I'm over the moon about it because these are really high-achieving students," Allen-Jones said. That group includes 10 teens from Anchorage, she said.

Jack and Jill, founded in 1938, started as a way for a group of 20 mothers in Pennsylvania to encourage social, educational and cultural opportunities for African-American kids. LaTanya Bellow, director of the group's western region, said the group's membership is now 10,000 mothers nationwide. The teen group is just one of the divisions within the organization, which works with kids ages 2 to 19.

The western region includes students from Alaska, Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada and Arizona.

"Typically, when they walk away from this type of a conference, they're more empowered," Bellow said. "They're certainly a lot more confident."

Bellow said the teens have a full schedule this week of plenary sessions, workshops and volunteer work. Official business also includes choosing teen leaders for the coming year.

But the group also schedules time for fun. They rented out a go-cart track and arcade facility Thursday evening, and are planning a dance for Friday night. Some had spotted a moose while they were here, and many more hoped to before the conference ends Sunday.

On Friday, the group walked from UAA to the Alaska Native Medical Center for a variety of volunteer tasks, including gardening, preparing gift blankets and reading to children. As they prepared to begin their work, chaperone Eric Dawson explained that Jack and Jill participation is a family tradition for some of his students from Vallejo, California.

Dawson said the exposure to community service is the part of the five-day conference that he appreciates most.

"How better to teach another generation to start early in their mindset, as they launch themselves to adulthood, to go ahead and start giving back now," he said.

After the work was done, Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium employee Gregory Nothstine taught the kids a safety-themed Inupiaq dance called the "Float Coat Song."

Morgan Smith, teen president for the region from Santa Clarita, California, has been involved with Jack and Jill since sixth grade. Now bound for college, she said the annual teen conference has fostered friendships and made it likely that she'll stay in contact with other motivated young people.

"When I leave conference, I definitely feel an urge to reach out more," she said.