Riverbank Youth Council reports fundraising gains, formalizes bylaws and hands $2,000 to next term

The Riverbank Youth Council presented its end-of-term report to the City Council on May 20, detailing fundraising, events and governance steps it said will underpin future terms.

The youth group said the city provided $5,000 at the start of the term for meeting expenses and stipends; presenters reported that an Applebee's pancake breakfast raised $1,339 and additional fundraisers and donations brought total funds to about $2,000, which the council voted to roll over to the next term. "So, we made a total of $1,339," said Evelyn Bettton Court, chair of the Riverbank Youth Council.

The students described a series of community-facing events that established the council's presence: a Day of the Dead (Dia0Muertos) booth, a fall festival at Cardoo/Cardoza Middle School, a Christmas parade appearance, a Chalk the Walk event partnered with Love Riverbank and a literacy night that drew more than 100 youth responses for a community "thankful" tree. They said those events were both fundraising and outreach opportunities.

The group credited partnerships and department presentations with helping their work. Presenters singled out Deputy Tovar and the Love Riverbank volunteer effort for providing materials and continuity: "Deputy Tovar showed a lot of consistency," a presenter said, noting he attended multiple meetings and helped coordinate Chalk the Walk.

Council members outlined how department presentations (police services, parks and recreation, public works, administration, development services, planning/building/code enforcement) helped youth learn available resources and informed the council's "dear future council" reflection letters. The youth council said it adopted official bylaws, established officer roles (chair, vice chair, sergeant-at-arms, treasurer, clerk and deputy clerk) and recommended a committee system so more youth can participate without being council members.

The council described how startup costs limited the scale of some planned activities such as a proposed youth night, and said the rollover is intended to build a larger foundation for more ambitious events next term. Presenters said they intentionally excluded scholarship funding from the rollover and recommended a consistent social-media strategy and clearer transition materials for future councils.

Mayor Hernandez and other council members invited the youth back for photos and thanked advisers Rachel and Gabby for supporting the group. The council did not take formal action other than accepting the presentation; the youth council said the next steps are to hand over bylaws and materials to the incoming term.