President Manav Musunuru (second from left) poses with members of Carmel Mayor’s Youth Council (CMYC) and mascots at the Carmel Farmers Market. CMYC regularly volunteers to help with bike parking at the Carmel Farmers Market.

Carmel Mayor’s Youth Council (CMYC) will hold their annual ultimate frisbee tournament on Sept. 10. President Manav Musunuru said that the tournament is one of the many fall events CMYC hosts to donate to charity.

“In order to help out charities, all the proceeds from our events go to the charity of the winner’s choice,” Musunuru said. “The community can help by entering the sports competitions we will have. For example, ultimate frisbee is coming up on Sept. 10 and spikeball will be near the end of October. All they need to do is pay a small fee to enter so that they can both help out a charitable cause and have fun.”

According to Co-advisor Candy Martin, CMYC is a student-led council formed in 2010 to empower youth in the community.

“The students with the support of local government and civic leaders, plan, organize, and implement opportunities and events for youth that allow them to develop leadership skills and organizational knowledge valuable and transferable to so many other areas of life,” Martin said. “I think the current leadership is doing a great job this year. Coming off of a year of not being able to meet in person or hold any of their events has been a challenge and they have stepped up to lead the council into a productive, positive and strong manner.”

Musunuru said CMYC is expanding the number of events they host and outreach to make up for the lost opportunities during the pandemic.

“We are planning on having new events such as a 5k, an Earth Day event, and a culture fair,” Musunuru said. “We have also expanded our volunteering into more city events, and students will be able to see CMYMembers helping out at events such as the Mooncake Festival, Carmel on Canvas, and Porchfest.”

“Engagement that leaves a lasting impression on those youth,” Martin said. “The city of Carmel will need new blood in the future to carry forth it’s positive trajectory and we both hope many of these young people will come home to Carmel to help with that mission.” By Leah Tan.