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The 17-year-old Clinton Township resident recently announced the formation of the Macomb County Teenage Republicans, an organization that will bring teenagers from throughout the county together to help the party with elections, rallies and other projects.

“I envision it being a countywide group because right now we don’t have anything like this that stretches over the entire county,” Jaczkowski said. “There are groups within some of the high schools, but they’re so small right now that they really can’t do much of anything.”

The group, which will have its first meeting at the headquarters of the Macomb County Republican Party in Shelby Township on April 7, will provide support during the election season. With a presidential election looming in November, Jaczkowski said she believes the group could be pretty busy.

“A lot of times they ask us to show up at events and rallies so that there are people there in the crowd,” she said. “I’m hoping to get us involved with fundraisers and keep a Web site to keep track of donations. But this isn’t just going to be for helping the community; I’m hoping it will be a fun thing, and a place for people with like beliefs to meet and have fun.”

Jaczkowski, a home-schooled high school senior, has been meeting with similar groups at local high schools to gauge interest for the organization. She said she’s encouraged that many teenagers are beginning to step forward and show an interest in government and politics.

“It’s hard to find kids who believe that they can make a difference. It’s not that they are not interested in politics, but they don’t really believe that, because of their age, they can make much of a difference,” she said. “But so far the response has been pretty good. I’ve talked with the representative for (Eisenhower High School’s) Republican Party and they said they could expect some people. And within the home-schooling community I’ve talked to, they’ve really been responsive.”

Teenagers who wish to join the organization must be between 13 and 19 and, while they don’t have to be politically knowledgeable, Jaczkowski said she does hope they will show a passion for their government.

“I want people who are going to be involved with this and pitch in with the help we need,” she said. “I’m hoping that they’re interested in politics.”

Jaczkowski’s own experience with politics began in 2000, during the first term of President Bush. Her mother was a civics teacher at the time and the family began closely following the elections. In 2006, Jaczkowski volunteered at a Republican victory center and said she was hooked.

“I just fell in love with the excitement and the energy of it all,” she said. “To me, it’s not about being Republican or Democrat, but Republican does tend to espouse my views the most. There are the 10 principles of conservatives and they really tend to be what I identify with.”

While Jaczkowski said her own family is not overly political, she said they have been very supportive of her.

“They’ve always been very supportive in everything I do. They were never very political though,” she said. “So this does give us a lot of new topics to discuss at the dinner table.”

The first meeting of the Macomb County Teenage Republicans will be April 7 at 6:30 p.m., at the Macomb County Republican Headquarters on Van Dyke in Shelby Township. Participants must be teenagers between 13 and 19 years of age. For more information, call 731-6217.