Youth Program Ideas for Limited Budgets

1. Youth Program Ideas for Limited Budgets NCLM Youth Summit Advisor Session October 22, 2011 Christie Hinson hinson@sog.unc.edu

2. Desired Outcomes • Go over some free resources available for your work with youth • Find out what other groups are up to and brainstorm ideas with the group based on your needs.

3. Introductions… • Who are you? • Name, organization & where you are from • Who did you bring? • If you have a youth council or organized group of youth, please tell us about the history of your council/group and what your youth are doing/have done. • What do you need help with?

4. The NC Civic Education Consortium works with schools, governments, and community organizations to prepare North Carolina’s young people to be active, responsible citizens. www.civics.org

5. Why start a youth council or youth leadership group? • Youth councils are a popular and powerful way to promote young people’s participation in local government, helping them: • Learn firsthand about how government works; • Gain leadership experience and new skills, such as public speaking and working in teams; • Develop a sense of responsibility, belonging, confidence and empowerment; and • Realize that their voices matter and that they can improve their communities. • Local government leaders have found that by giving youth a voice in shaping decisions that affect their lives, cities & counties can craft smarter policies and solutions to key youth issues. • When local governments, schools, community organizations, etc., offer meaningful leadership opportunities, young people want to be involved and will recruit their peers to join them. • Youth who are involved in positive activities are less likely to abuse alcohol or drugs, commit crimes, become pregnant or engage in other risky behavior.

6. Download this full report at www.civics.org.

7. Where does NC stand nationally? • Volunteer • Work with neighbors • Voting • Talk about politics • Make a contribution over $25 • Exchange favors with neighbors • Voter registration • Eat dinner with household member almost every day • Engage in non-electoral political act • Group membership

8. Where Does NC Stand?A Comparison with National Trends

9. North Carolina’s Civil Society: An Exclusive Club • Only 33% of North Carolinians have participated in civil society within the past year. • 84% of North Carolina’s young people do not participate in a group or organization.

10. Recommendations:K-12 Educators • Engage students in simulations of democratic process and procedures, such as town council meetings or General Assembly sessions. • Incorporate discussion of local, state, and national current events. • Provide opportunities for meaningful student leadership. • Implement service-learning that links students’ work outside the classroom to what they are learning.

11. Recommendations:Community Organizations • Actively recruit volunteers. • Offer leadership programs such as those often offered by local chambers of commerce and local governments. • Recruit others than the “usual suspects” for advisory boards and commissions.

12. Good intentions are not enough. • Youth present significant challenges when it comes to engaging them in the community and the civic process. • Youth culture, trends, language and style can seem foreign to adults. • Government & community leaders often wonder: How can we reach our youth? How can we provide them with positive activities when they aren’t in school? • “WHAT IN THE WORLD DO I DO WITH THEM?” Convening a group of youth is only one step – work must be done to ensure the leadership experience is meaningful and positive for all involved.

13. Key to the success of a group of youth… • Facilitate students getting to know one another and building a sense of community. • Have purpose.

14. NC Civic Education Consortiumwww.civics.org • Database of Civic Resources • Curriculum creation and teacher training • Youth worker training and development of activities for use in extracurricular settings • Leadership • State & local government • Team building, diversity, conflict resolution

15. www.civics.org

21. Learn about local government

22. NC Dept. of Administration Youth Advocacy & Involvement Officehttp://www.doa.nc.gov • Operates the NC State Youth Council • Youth Legislative Assembly • Offers assistance to local youth councils • Formation, support & assistance • “Start-up package” • Local youth councils can apply for a state charter; they can then participate in state level activities • Mini-grants ($500) • Contact: Cynthia Giles • Cynthia.giles@doa.nc.gov • 919.807.4407

23. NC DOA - Youth Advocacy and Involvement Officehttp://www.doa.nc.gov/ • State Govt. Internship Program • SADD Program • (annual conference Nov. 18-20)

24. National League of Cities – Youth Civic Engagementwww.nlc.org

25. NLC Resources - http://www.nlc.org/

26. Youth Service America - http://www.ysa.org/

27. YSA Grants • MLK Day Lead Organizer Grants • Deadline: November 18 • YSA and CNCS are proud to support up to 16 MLK Day Lead Organizers with $4,000 planning grants to coordinate Martin Luther King Day of Service (January 16, 2012) activities. This grant program is open to nonprofit organizations, K-12 schools, and colleges & universities in all 50 states and DC. Grantees will be required to engage at least 3,000 volunteers in community service or service-learning projects on MLK Day, build or strengthen partnerships with at least 5 partner organizations, and address one or more strategic issue areas. Learn more: www.YSA.org/grants/MLKDay

28. Institute for Emerging Issues http://www.ncsu.edu/iei/

29. Search Institute - www.search-institute.org

30. http://foundationcenter.org/

32. Federal Grants: www.grants.gov

33. Kickstarter.com

34. http://www.ncruralcenter.org/

35. Civic Action Project - www.crfcap.org/

39. NC’s Pre-Registration Law • On August 10, 2009 a piece of landmark legislation was passed by the NC General Assembly and went into effect Jan. 1, 2010. • A bipartisan bill was adopted that allows 16 and 17 year olds to pre-register to vote. This means that when they apply for a driver’s license, 16-year-olds can pre-register. • Those who pre-register will be automatically registered to vote upon turning 18. • The law also requires county boards of elections to conduct registration drives at high schools each year, and it broadens existing requirements for civics teachers to teach students about voting and the registration process. • North Carolina is only one of three states with a law like this. Only two other states – FL and HI – allow 16 and 17 year-olds to pre-register! PRE

40. NC State Board of Electionshttp://www.sboe.state.nc.us/

41. http://kidsvotingusa.org/

42. Teaching Tolerance - www.tolerance.org

43. iCivics.org is a free web-based education project designed to teach students civics and inspire them to be active participants in our democracy. iCivics is the vision of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who is concerned that students are not getting the information and tools they need for civic participation. • FinanceintheClassroom.org provides high-quality personal finance materials for educators, students and parents • NC Council for Economic Education • http://nccee.org/Home.htm

44. http://www.flcities.com/membership/library_youth_council_tips.asphttp://www.flcities.com/membership/library_youth_council_tips.asp

45. What resources have you used that you have found helpful? • What would you like input on from the group? • Contact Christie Hinson at the Civic Education Consortium: • www.civics.org • hinson@sog.unc.edu • 919.962.8389