BRIDGEPORT — Bridgeport High School sophomores got to share their perspectives Tuesday on how to improve the Ohio Valley with representatives of the nonprofit “Why Don’t You Stay a While.”

At the end of October, the organization visited Bridgeport High School after Principal Jack Fisher invited representatives to come, as he’s a board member himself.

The group has monthly “buzz” events in the evenings for young professionals that are hosted at small businesses throughout the area.

Participants share what they do, who they are and details of their journey. Founder and board chair Spencer Porter decided to visit the school because “the youth are our future,” she said.

Porter brought fellow board member and creative photographer Katie Bizanovich with her to discuss their mission of professional and personal development, civic engagement and having fun. They discussed the importance of gaining valuable experience in the world, continuously learning and developing self knowledge to enter the world with a game plan for achieving goals and dreams and to be engaged in the community.

They asked each student to share whether they were planning to stay in the Ohio Valley for a while and if not, why. They wanted to know if they were to stay, what they would like to see in the community that would entice and excite them to stay.

“It really was a two-way conversation, and we got the opportunity to hear the sophomore perspectives on our area,” Porter said. “And also through those answers that they gave us, we’re really committed to making decisions with their feedback in mind, because we know the youth are our future here. And a lot of the information was very eye opening and enlightening.”

The feedback the students shared with Porter and Bizanovich was that they don’t feel like there is anything fun or enjoyable to do locally, not many ways to become politically involved and no places to hang out with friends.

“They just really feel disconnected from their community,” Porter said. “And they aren’t aware of many options available to them to not only enjoy where they live, but to be able to build forward and capitalize on those opportunities.”

Porter noted the nonprofit is excited to continue to have these conversations and then follow up with the students with information about resources and opportunities in the Ohio Valley and enjoyable things to do culturally. She added that the Ohio Valley is not providing that information to young people, so a lot of them are unaware of what is here.

“We as a community need to do a better job at engaging with those young people, bringing them into our conversations, bringing them into understanding of what is around us and how we capitalize on that,” Porter said. “We kind of looked at that in a positive way, thinking that this is a great opportunity for all of us to figure out maybe where some of our connection points aren’t fully connecting, and we can do a better job at facilitating those relationships, opportunities and resources to our young people so they stay.”

Porter wants students to know when she speaks to them, their input matters. She said the nonprofit plans to become more involved with schools on both sides of the Ohio River to engage more students and hear different perspectives.

Porter and Bizanovich also asked students to think about their biggest, most wild dream and what they thought about what they wanted at 5 years old but not to share it. This encouraged them to tap into thoughts, memories and emotions and to think about their favorite thing about themselves and how they could capitalize on that and use that to their advantage.

The nonprofit visited Ohio University Eastern on Nov. 7 to interact with students in the lounge to tell them about what the nonprofit does and to create an atmosphere of relevant connection.

Porter hopes college students now want to start coming to the evening buzz events, because that is a funnel to the spaces outside of the education centers, to be able to actually pour into the community in a really relevant and real way, she said.

Porter said she and her board members care deeply about what young people have to say and respect their opinions and viewpoints because they are involved in the community as well.

“We want our younger people to have more accessibility than maybe we ever did, and to have a better experience than we have,” Porter said. “We truly believe that the generations below us deserve to have an easier and better time than we do because that is what community building is all about, is making it better and easier and more accessible for those that come after us. That’s our duty as leaders in the community and community members.”

The group’s next event is at 6:30 p.m. today at Leva’s Jewelry Store at 3300 Belmont St. in Bellaire.