Action Resource Guide

Building stronger communities through youth leadership

One of the articles in Generation NExT (IC#43)
Originally published in Winter 1995/96 on page 54
Copyright (c)1995, 1997 by Context Institute

Here is a starting place for getting involved in your community.This is a short introduction to organizations working on youth issues, not a comprehensive list.


American Red Cross

430 17th Street. NW
Washington, DC 20006
tel. 202/639-3124

Over 90,000 youth across the country are serving their peers, their communities, and learning self-sufficiency through local chapter programs. Provides training materials on issues including teen HIV-AIDS prevention, peer health education, and first-aid techniques.

AmeriCorps
1100 Vermont Avenue NW
Washington DC 20525
tel. 202/606-5000

Federally-funded national service initiative that enables US citizens to serve their communities through organized service efforts, in turn receiving educational benefits for performing a year or more of service.

Cascadia Quest
4649 Sunnyside Avenue N
Suite 305
Seattle, WA 98103
tel. 206/632-3909
e-mail: casquest@igc.apc.org

Cascadia Quest, a Seattle-based nonprofit youth service organization, offers programs to promote environmental restoration and celebrate international cultural diversity, teaming local and international youth.

COOL – Campus Outreach Opportunity League
411 Washington Avenue N.
Suite 110
Minneapolis, MN 55401
tel. 612/333-2665

The Campus Outreach Opportunity League is a national student-run organization that promotes programs to assist college campuses in building and strengthening community service initiatives.

DO Something
423 W. 55th, 8th Fl.
New York, NY 10019
tel. 212/523-1175

Provides training, guidance, and financial resources to emerging youth leaders. Emphasizes the belief that fundamental change occurs locally.

Girls Incorporated
30 E. 33rd Street
New York, NY 10016
tel. 212/689-3700

Girls Incorporated offers programs through a nationwide network of centers, that seek to make girls "strong, smart, and bold." These affiliates serve over 250,000 youths.

National Crime Prevention Council
1700 K Street NW, Second Floor
Washington, DC 20006
tel. 202/466-6272

Working to build safer and more caring communities, the NCPC establishes demonstration programs which allow young people to act as agents of community change and crime prevention. The Youth As Resources (YAR) program engages youth in designing and implementing issue-related projects. (see IC# 38)

National Indian Youth Leadership Project
325 Marguerite Street
P.O. box 2140
Gallup, NM 87305
tel. 505/722-9176

This private, non-profit organization is dedicated to developing the leadership potential of Native Americans. Focus on community building and service.

National Youth Leadership Council
1910 West County Road B
Rosesville, MN 55113
tel. 612/631-3672

The National Youth Leadership Council works with individuals, organizations, and communities to develop service-oriented youth leadership, and provides resources for teachers, educators, and youth workers and organizations.

The Points of Light Foundation
Youth and Education Outreach
1737 H Street
Washington, DC 20006
tel. 202/223-9186

Focused on engaging young people in service, the foundation sponsors two programs aimed at youth leaders. The YES Ambassador Program provides a one-year service opportunity for young people (18-25) to engage other youths in service, and to create service and leadership opportunities.

Student Conservation Association
Head Office:
Box 550
Charlestown, NH 03603-0550
tel. 603/543-1700

SCA fosters lifelong stewardship of the environment by offering opportunities for education, leadership, and personal development while providing volunteer opportunities in natural resource management, environmental protection, and conservation.

Student Environmental Action Coalition (SEAC)
P.O. Box 1168
Chapel Hill, NC
27514-1168
tel. 800/700-SEAC
tel. 919/967-4600
e-mail: seac@igc.apc.org

SEAC is a grassroots, youth-led and run organization working on such issues as recycling, corporate accountability, toxics, World Bank reform, indigenous issues, genetic engineering, water rights, energy efficiency, racism, sexism, heterosexism, and more.

YouthBuild USA/Youth on Board
PO Box 440322
Somerville, MA 02144
tel. 617/623-9900

At 18 sites around the country, YouthBuild recruits and trains young adults by engaging them in the creation of affordable housing in their communities. YouthBuild also houses Youth on Board, a program committed to ensuring the young people’s voices are heard and acted on in all programs that involved young people, with a special emphasis on boards of directors.

Service America
1101 15th St. NW, Suite 200
Washington DC 20005
tel. 202/296-2992

Supports organizations in the community service field through policy and leadership development initiatives.

Youth Volunteer Corps of America
6310 Lamar Avenue, Suite 125
Overland Park, KS 66202
tel. 913/432-9822

This agency creates and oversees community service projects for youths ages 11-18.

YMCA Earth Service Corps
at Metrocenter YMCA
909 4th Avenue
Seattle, WA 98104
tel. 206/382-5013
fax: 206/382-7894

The YMCA Earth Service Corps seeks to empower young people to be effective, responsible global citizens by providing opportunities for environmental education, action, leadership, and development ,and international crosscultural exchange.

Publications

The Kids Guide to Social Action
by Barbara A. Lewis
Free Spirit Publishing, Inc.
400 1st Ave. N., Suite 616
Minneapolis, MN 55401

Step-by-step advice on how to select a social problem, find a creative solution, and put it into action. Includes examples of young people who have made a difference.

Who Cares: A Journal of Service and Action
1511 K Street NW
Washington, DC 20005
tel. 202/628-1691
http://www.whocares.org

Who Cares seeks to "inform, provoke, and inspire non-profit professionals, students, activists, and volunteers across the country." $15/yr (4 issues).

YO! (Youth Outlook)
Pacific News Service
450 Mission Street, Room 204
San Francisco, CA 94105
tel. 415/243-4364

By and for teens, it is "dedicated to asking the unsafe questions, and raising unheard voices." $12/year (6 issues).

Youth Sourcebook
International Institute for Sustainable Development
161 Portage Avenue E. 6th Floor
Winnipeg, Manitoba,
Canada R3B 0Y4
tel. 204/958-7700
fax: 204/958-7710
e-mail: reception@iisdpost.iisd.ca

Developed to involve youth worldwide in sustainable development issues, contains information on organizing strategies, electronic communication, case studies, resource materials, and more. $15.