Successful youth engagement programs

We need your ideas! Click here to share. Game Plan for Engaging Youth. And what are some principles for doing so? Discover eight successful youth engagement approaches. Authentically engaging youth turns out to be a strategy where everyone is a winner! Youth Briefs. How Individualized Education Program IEP Transition Planning Makes a Difference for Youth with Disabilities Youth who receive special education services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act IDEA and especially young adults of transition age, should be involved in planning for life after high school as early as possible and no later than age Youth Transitioning to Adulthood: How Holding Early Leadership Positions Can Make a Difference Research links early leadership with increased self-efficacy and suggests that leadership can help youth to develop decision making and interpersonal skills that support successes in the workforce and adulthood.

Youth Council members in Lusaka, Zambia, donated mattresses, bedding and curtains to a medical clinic last year. Kanyama Clinic is one of the most burdened medical clinics in Lusaka, Zambia. It serves about patients daily. During a walkthrough of the clinic, the Youth Council discovered a lack of adequate bedding. Some patients were forced to sleep on the floor due to overcrowding.

In other cases, they were asked to bring in their own bedding, which presented obvious health hazards. Paul, a Youth Health Corps member and youth reporter, says he is happy all patients are now warm and comfortable. Budgeting proved challenging, though. The Youth Council mismanaged their funds, putting them in the red.

But it all worked out. The teens formed partnerships and asked for support from other organizations in the community. Denis, 15, a participant in the projects last year, says he is extra happy, because he benefited, too. Kelli shops for care kit items that were distributed to the homeless at a Little Rock, Arkansas, Salvation Army last year. Disheartened by the number of homeless people on the streets of Little Rock, year-old Kelli wanted to help. After all, she appreciates how CI is helping her own family overcome poverty.

I often wonder how I can make a difference and show them that I care. So Kelli spearheaded a campaign to create care kits for them. Youth Council members then distributed the kits at the Salvation Army. The campaign garnered citywide attention. The community garden in Guatemala produced beets, tomatoes, carrots, onions and more, which youth sold and donated to CI's nutrition program. The Youth Council launched its gardens project in Based on its success, they decided to continue funding the gardens.

Last year, the teens harvested more than pounds of tomatoes, plus beets, carrots, onions and other vegetables. Our project reached many more people than I had originally thought it would, and I was gratified when over 50 people volunteered their time to pull weeds and get dirty with us.

It meant a great deal to be a part of a statewide community action event. I felt that all of the youth went away feeling far more confident and with greatly improved communication skills. In his provocative work challenging the status quo of academic scholarship, which traditionally focuses on the generation of new knowledge, Boyer argued for an enlarged definition of scholarly work.

In particular, he highlighted efforts by faculty members involved in the scholarship of outreach and engagement to include the scholarship of integration, application, and teaching.

One of the hallmarks of programs delivered through Land Grant University Extension programs is the promise of research-based programs both in terms of program content and delivery methods. Incumbent upon all extension educators is the requirement of knowing the research base of a program, and implementing the program in a way that builds on the best known practices of the day.

The Participatory Evaluation with Youth for Community Action program is a model of the type of scholarship advocated by Boyer. The program integrates current knowledge in youth engagement theory and practice by intentionally combining the critical elements of participatory evaluation, positive youth development, and youth-adult partnerships resulting in application that informs future practice. Several key contributions of this application are highlighted below.

Participatory Evaluation and Community Engagement. The skills of social inquiry, and the accompanying ability to gather, analyze, synthesize, and share data, are highly valued skills in the contemporary work environment and transferable to different career settings.

Our program provides an opportunity for youth and adults to research, discuss, and evaluate real concerns that matter to them and their community and create an action plan for change. This results in the empowerment of youth in their natural community settings, allowing for the youth to experience the transformative power of community engagement.

Holding a forum in their community and creating a finite timeline for their project make the program participation practical for youth and adults and alleviate some of the pitfalls some youth engagement programs encounter.

Positive youth development theory asserts that all youth have the capacity to change and grow as they interact with their communities Benson, Scales, Hamilton, and Sesma, Even so, such development does not always occur spontaneously, but requires deliberate and intentional strategies of engagement. Developmentally, teens are negotiating their independence. Consequently, programs need to be aware of such growth in autonomy and use this as an asset to strengthen programs with youth.

The Participatory Evaluation with Youth for Community Action program encourages youth engagement and action within the community, leading to positive youth development and the ultimate goal of lifelong contribution to others. Youth-Adult Partnerships and Community Engagement. Youth engagement thrives when there are successful partnerships between youth and adults. Teens need adults who inspire and support them. Successful youth build links across families, schools, peers, and communities that in turn support their pathways.

By combining the best elements of quality youth engagement practices, we can envisage a brighter future around the boardroom table. Imagine now a boardroom meeting that has been planned in partnership among youth and adult board members, where deliberate efforts have been made to train the youth and adults on how to work together effectively. Instead of sitting quietly to the side, youth members co-lead the meeting, providing frequent and thoughtful contributions to the conversation.

The agenda for the meeting itself has been established through an assessment of community needs and interests, and has at least a partial focus on community engagement. As a result, youth are propelled further down path of positive development, supported by the adults and communities that believe in them, gaining confidence and competence, and developing a lasting commitment to the value of community engagement.

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