Shortly after coming to Congress I established a Student Advisory Council to encourage civic participation among high school youths in our district. The students are selected annually from throughout the 15th Congressional District and work together throughout the school year to increase awareness of policies and issues that effect youths. The students from the 2007 Council chose to focus on service learning as a topic for their annual conference. On Saturday, June 9th, 2007, local students and community members joined the SAC and me at the Quinlan Community Center in Cupertino to participate in VOICE! - Values of Informed Civic Engagement. High school and college students, teachers and community leaders came together to explore the positive impacts of service learning on students and their communities. Several workshops engaged participants in a range of topics, from homelessness in Santa Clara County to government service to developing leadership skills.