Starting or leading initiatives for change within your community can feel daunting: not knowing where to begin, what to do, who you need to contact for support, etc. This is why organizations like Youth Creating Change (YCC) have started. YCC is a non-profit student-led organization helping students make a change within their local and state communities.
YCC assists students in initiating change initiatives by guiding them through the process of creating solutions to benefit the general public via mentorships and fellowships that provide them with experience, group training, and stipends to alleviate financial burdens students may have.
Unlike other student-led advocacy groups, YCC’s mentorship and fellowship program, students can learn valuable skills and have experience with leadership, expressing passion, and fighting for change within these fellowships. “With the mentorship program, students learn critical skills they would need to expand and create projects, and there are provided stipends to help support project growth and development,” Suhani Aryal, a senior at John F. Kennedy High School and YCC outreach coordinator, said. Some of YCC’s mentorships include efforts of poverty reduction, restorative justice, rent stabilization, and equality.
According to the Department of Education, only 10 percent of high school students nationwide have received mentoring through their high schools, While some schools don’t offer any form of mentorship programs. This means most students do not have the same opportunities as others when learning about specific subjects from more experienced students or figures. The wide range of benefits mentorship can have on students academically makes it difficult for students to get mentorships. YCC’s mentorship program is readily accessible for students who other, more experienced students lead. Because YCC has also branched out to several different cities around the US, their mentorship programs are nationwide.
Because the target audience for YCC is youth, YCC has utilized social media to spread awareness about YCC, upcoming events, opportunities, etc., for those who wish to change a major aspect of people’s lives. YCC co-president and Montgomery Blair High School senior Ach’sah Gubena learned about the organization through Instagram. “I actually found out about YCC through their annual Social Change Conference. I had seen a flyer circulating on social media and decided to join. I fell in love with what they do. I believe it was learning more about their fellowship program and the powerful projects one can create with YCC that really had me on my feet,” Gubena said.
Ach’sah went on to explain her contributions to YCC, “With the chapter at my school, We were able to testify to the Maryland legislature and get a legislation passed ensuring all low-income schools in the state of Maryland get free breakfast. Additionally, we also acquired hundreds of signatures to petition for rent stabilization in Montgomery County. I truly credit YCC for all this work.”
Andres Guerra, YCC outreach coordinator and senior at John F. Kennedy HS said that no organizations directly addressed food and housing issues impacting his community. Hence, Guerra decided to take the initiative. “I saw there was a lack of structured student service opportunities at my school, and none were directly addressing the food or housing inequality in our community,” he said. Guerra would go to YCC to open a “chapter” at Kennedy HS. Chapters are smaller branches of YCC-affiliated organizations, usually student-led organizations that YCC themselves helped to develop.
In case you want to learn more about YCC and its fellowship programs and how to conduct change in your community, consider checking their Instagram and Linktree.
Article written by Nicolas Leyva Díaz of Springbrook High School
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons