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YOUTHINK
Grade level: 9 -12
Promising Approaches
- Service-learning and community service
Overview
Special Features
Civic Learning Goals
Required Resources
Available Resources
Snapshots of Practice in Action
Contact Information
Overview
YOUTHINK is a youth-led organization that
empowers young people to make a difference in thePortlandcommunity. The main group consists of a diverse board of
20 members representing four local schools. YOUTHINK was started in 2003
as one of eight groups to receive a grant from the WK Kellogg Youth Innovation
Fund. The grant was created to support
diverse groups of young people who wish to make lasting changes in their
community. The main goal of YOUTHINK is to promote youth-led social
change and philanthropy through service learning projects, teaching board
members and other community youth to “think globally, and act locally.”
YOUTHINK makes the most impact through
their youth to youth grant processes. YOUTHINK grants encourage other Portland youth to seek out problems in their community and design plans to help fix
these problems. With this, YOUTHINK is providing young people with
money and the opportunity to make a positive change in their community. Last year YOUTHINK gave out $12,000 in grant money for 10 youth-led projects.
Special
Features
YOUTHINK was founded on supporting
youth-led community activism. As a group
there is a strong emphasis on creating change, not providing charity. Young people are encouraged to research the
root cause of an issue they feel needs change. By seeking out the root cause young people can really make a difference
and make positive steps towards changing long term problems present in the Portland community.
YOUTHINK is made up of a diverse group of students, not just academically elite privileged students. Through a community mapping system YOUTHINK is sure to recruit board members and grant projects from all areas of Portland. The group also aims to find areas of the community that are of
particular need and recruit members to ensure they have a fully representative board.
YOUTHINK is a youth-led organization that directly supports other young people. Through their youth to youth grant program young people are influencing other young people to take civic action and create opportunities for change in Portland
The decisions and processes of YOUTHINK are made by youth, but also involve cooperative partnerships with community adults. YOUTHINK promotes youth-adult partnerships and creates an environment where young people and adults can work
together for positive change.
Civic Learning Goals
Civic Knowledge
Social and political networks for making change, such as voluntary associations or local organizing
Civic Skills
- Critical thinking, active listening, analyzing public policies, problems and assets, and understanding multiple perspectives
- Communicating one’s position through writing or speaking
- Planning and implementing civic action through managing, organizing, and building consensus
Civic Dispositions
- Developing tolerance, respect, and appreciation of difference
- Developing concern with the rights and welfare of others
- Developing a belief in one’s ability to make a difference
- Developing attentiveness to civic matters and a desire to become involved in the civic life of the community
Required Resources
The most important aspect of YOUTHINK is providing grant money to Portland youth. Each year money is required to supply young people with the opportunity to follow through on projects they believe will
make a significant difference in their community and to support further research by YOUTHINK for future
projects. It is also important for YOUTHINK to make the community aware of the group and what they do through radio broadcasts, flyers and philanthropy events.
Available Resources
In 2003 Portland was chosen as one of eight communities to receive $100,000 grant from the WK Kellogg
foundation. The grant was provided in support of service learning and civic action in community youth nationwide. For grantees, YOUTHINK promotes social entrepreneurship, or creating small businesses that will turn a profit to allow for the group to be supported while giving money to the community to make positive social changes. YOUTHINK also receives small contributions from local businesses.
Snapshot of the Practice in Action
YOUTHINK is made up of two crucial groups and the interaction of these two groups: board members and grantees. Here are examples of projects from both groups that make up YOUTHINK.
Grantee: A young woman involved in the Portland foster care system began research on foster homes in Maine and specifically regulations set to starting foster homes. Through research she found that the many restrictions enforced by the state of Maine caused a lack of adequate foster care options, leading to youth homelessness. Homelessness can be a cause for drop out and below average performance in school. To help change this, the young woman began a workshop for teachers to help them recognize signs of homeless youth and ways
to help. Through recognizing typical signs teachers will be better able to promote the learning of homeless youth
and keep more homeless young people in school.
YOUTHINK: The YOUTHINK board held the first ever youth philanthropy conference in Maine. As a group, members organized and recruited other philanthropy groups and youth groups in the area and led skill building workshops. The workshops and presentations included community mapping/identifying community needs, training/supporting grantees, fundraising skills, and grant making for social change. One hundred people attended.
Contact Information
Ainsley Wallace (Site Coordinator
Portland Partnership, Inc.
331 Veranda Street
Portland City, ME 04103
(207) 874-8236
wallaa@portlandschools.org
