250 local high school juniors take part in "Youth Frontiers" leadership retreat

 At a time when many are asking what's wrong with young people today? There was an example on Wednesday of everything that's right.

More than 14 area schools took part in the  Youth Frontiers character building workshop at Brookfield East High School.

The program and its participants were featured in \"Our Stories with Michele\" on the CBS 58 News at 4. It is a regular feature on the new newscast which showcases people of action who help give a complete perspective of the place we call home.

An estimated 250 11th-grade students took part in the half day workshop which helps them come up with a plane of action to make their communities and school respectful and safe.

\"We want to empower them and recognize that they have a voice. As they enter their Senior year what will be their legacy,\"explained retreat organizer Megan Lee-Erickson.

 The retreat  was underwritten by Port Washington-based Allen Edmonds Shoe Corporation.

Founded in 1987, Youth Frontiers' dynamic retreats inspire students to live out the values of kindness, courage, respect and responsibility in their personal and school lives. Youth Frontiers aims to change the way kids treat each other in every hallway, lunch line and classroom of every school in America. Last year, the nationally renowned nonprofit held 766 retreats for 118,000 students and educators. Since its inception, Youth Frontiers has reached more than 1.4 million through its character development programs.

\"What we're trying to communicate to young people is that character matters. That they matter and what they do matters, \" Founder Joe Cavanaugh told CBS 58 NEws.

Participating Milwaukee-area schools included:

Brookfield Central High School

Brookfield East High School

Chilton High School

Fond du Lac High School

Kewaskum High School

Milwaukee Community Cyber High School

Milwaukee School of Languages

Nicolet High School

Roncalli High School

Valders High School

Waterford Union High School

Wauwatosa West High School

Wauwatosa East High School

Whitefish Bay High School

Each student was asked to commit to one thing they would do to help shape their school for the better.