This month, we encourage you to learn about and engage with advocacy in your community. Voices of Youth asks budding advocates, “What specific change do I want to see in the world?” Advocacy can look like contacting your local representatives, volunteering, donating to organizations doing the work in your community, etc. To learn more about the Youth Mentoring Collaborative's Advocacy efforts, resources, and toolkits, click the button below.
The need for change bulldozed a road down the center of my mind.
Maya Angelou
WEBINAR | Policy and Advocacy for Youth Development: Why Do We Need It?
April 27, 2023, 12:00 PM
For years, mentoring and youth services organizations across the country have played a critical role in the social, emotional, behavioral, and intellectual development of children and teenagers—advocating for legislation, policies, and public funding streams to support youth development at the national, state, and local levels continues to be a key factor in generating the level of investments necessary for youth-serving agencies to deliver on their missions effectively.
Join Youth Mentoring Collaborative (YMC) and special guests for an informative discussion to learn how you can engage elected officials and other key stakeholders to align resources to expand and elevate youth development and mentoring programs that are supporting our most vulnerable populations.
Speakers
- Thomas Showalter, Senior Advisor, National Youth Employment Coalition
- Salima Thomas, District Director, Rep. Valerie Foushee (D-NC), U.S. House of Representatives
What is Advocacy?
Check out Alliance for Justice's advocacy toolkit. The toolkit contains basic definitions as well as ways for you and your organization to engage with advocacy.
Mobilizing for Advocacy
Check out EdNC's advocacy toolkit, "What you need to know to be an effective advocate: North Carolina government 101." The toolkit includes actions to take, when to take them, and why.
Summer Social Justice Academy
The Youth Mentoring Collaborative’s Summer Social Justice Academy is an intensive three-week paid hybrid summer experience for youth to explore how to respond to some of society’s most pressing issues impacting them, including mental health, access to high-quality education, contact with the criminal justice system, and economic opportunities. Download the flyer here.
Advocacy Resources for Young People
Our collection of resources for engaging with advocacy, this month and always.
Understanding Legislative Advocacy for Children in North Carolina
NC Child's Guide to the General Assembly in North Carolina. This toolkit explores key jargon, different kinds of advocacy, and more.
UNICEF's guide for youth worldwide to engage with advocacy. This 88-page guide gives an in-depth understanding of how each youth can fit into advocacy, what actions individuals can take, and more. Access the Spanish version here.
The UN's global youth report. This report contains information on issues that youth engage with internationally, as well as links to resources.
Back to the blog
Head back to the blog to explore more monthly content, op-eds, and YMC conversations.
Check Out our resources
Learn more about how caregivers, mentors, mentees, and organizations can support mentoring relationships.
Our Guiding Principles
Learn about why and for whom we do the work, and how we approach mentoring through a critical lens.