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About The PLYC
What is the Pro Life Youth Congress?
The Pro Life Youth Congress (PLYC) is a network of high impact youth dedicated to building the Culture of Life.
Who can join? The PLYC is designed for students from 7th-12th grades who are ready to stand up in their community for the unborn in America.
Why should I get involved? The PLYC is designed to train the future leaders of our nation not only on the importance of the sanctity of human life, but also how to be a leader in their community. It provides the students with the resources to step up as a leader while maintaining a fun and energetic environment.
Our History
The Pro Life Youth Congress was created by students in 2004 who were serving as summer interns at then Right to Life of Summit County in Akron, Ohio. They wanted to do more to end abortion and save lives. Under the guidance of Right to Life leaders, they launced leadership trainings and good citizenship iniatives which would soon come to be known as the Pro Life Youth Congress. Thousands of students have joined the PLYC since its inception. It's not for everyone....it can be tough standing up for truth and justice in a society that allows abortion at the beginning of life or euthanasia or assisted suicide at the end of life. We are here with you...and God will be with you, too.
Our Mission
The mission of the PLYC is to create and support life initiatives for student run, student led organizations in middle schools, high schools, youth groups and youth organizations. The PLYC seeks to assist students in developing their leadership abilities by teaching an equipping them to effectively educate, advocate and motivate their peers for the cause of life. Members of the PLYC are empowered to represent the pro-life community in their area. PLYC chapters are designed to work with the adult run pro-life organizations in their communities. Adults and college students serve as advisors, chaperones and mentors in the Pro Life Youth Congress network.
The PLYC provides resources, guidance and educational materials to develop:
- virtuous leadership based on justice, temperance, fortitude and prudence
- excellent citizenship to fight for innocent Americans from conception through natural death
We accomplish this by using strategies to
- EDUCATE with the facts about life issues
- ADVOCATE as a "voice for the voiceless" who cannot speak for themselves
- MOTIVATE for the cause of life
- UNIFY those seeking to end abortion and defend life
- MULTIPLY our voices and numbers to increase in strength
The Virtues of Leadership
The Pro Life Youth Congress encourages four major events each year which emphasize the four cardinal virtues of leadership. In the winter, the National Pro Life Youth Congress will host and inspire all PLYC chapters to attend the March for Life in Washington D.C. in January. During the summer, the PLYC encourages each state to host its own pro life leadership conferences and retreats as well as attend the National Right to Life Conference for those who are able. The Pro life Youth Congress conferences in the spring and fall will be planned and conducted by the local PLYC regional and county officers who will be working in close cooperation and under the guidance of their local Right to Life chapters and adult pro life leaders.
Each year there are four Pro Life Youth Congress conferences to teach the following:
Justice March for Life: Washington D.C. or local events for those who cannot attend the March for Life
Justice is the most important of the virtues. It is defined as the constant and perpetual will to give each man his due. This is the only virtue that specifically deals with our relationships to others. It is justice that teaches us to respect the rights of others, and to establish harmonious and equitable relationships with regard to each other and the common good.
Temperance This conference is usually held in union with the local RTL chapter’s spring educational dinner.
Temperance is generally defined as control over excess, and as such has many names, depending on what we are controlling, or tempering. For example, the desire for food is natural, but when it develops into an inordinate desire, we call it gluttony. When we overindulge in alcohol, we call it drunkeness. Both of these can be fought by abstinence, which is temperance applied for our desire for food and alcohol. The practice of temperance over sexual pleasures is called chastity. Temperance provides for balance in our lives and keeps desires within the limits of what is honorable.
Fortitude Summer Pro-Life leadership retreats—PLYC recommends that each state host their own retreat.
Fortitude is commonly called courage, but it is different from what we think of as courage today. It is always reasoned and reasonable, and not foolhardy and rash. A person exercising fortitude is willing to put himself in danger if necessary, but does not seek danger for danger's sake. Fortitude strengthens our resolve to resist temptations and to overcome obstacles in our moral life. We practice fortitude when we come to the defense of a good cause.
Prudence Held in Sept./Oct. with back to school meetings in local chapters & counties
A prudent man is one who does the good, not merely one who knows the good. Prudence is choosing the best course of action when there are multiple choices. It helps us deliberate well and to better calculate the consequences of our actions. It should not be confused with fear or lack of courage. Rather, it is the ability to reason and choose the right course of action. With the help of this virtue we apply moral principles to particular cases without error and overcome doubts about the good to achieve and the evil to avoid.
Structure
The structure of the PLYC is loosely based upon state and national governmental congressional and legislative positions. There are national, state, regional and local officers and committees.
If there is no PLYC chapter in your school, church or local organization, we can help you to start one. Youth group leaders, teachers and/or other adult leaders are invited to contact us to help bring together students for form a new chapter.
If there is already a pro-life youth group in your school, church or organization, we welcome you to become a chapter of the PLYC to help unify all in the cause to protect life.
© 2011