Youth Program Ideas for
Limited Budgets
NCLM Youth Summit
Advisor Session
October 22, 2011
Christie Hinson
hinson@sog.unc.edu
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.
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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?
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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
Why start a youth council
or youth leadership group?
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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.
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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.
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Download this full report at
www.civics.org.
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Where does NC stand nationally?
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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
Where Does NC Stand?
A Comparison with National Trends
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Key to the success of a group of
youth…
1. Facilitate students getting to know one another
and building a sense of community.
2. Have purpose.
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NC Civic Education Consortium
www.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
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www.civics.org
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Learn about local government
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NC Dept. of Administration
Youth Advocacy & Involvement Office
http://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
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NC DOA - Youth Advocacy and Involvement Office
http://www.doa.nc.gov/
• State Govt. Internship Program
• SADD Program
– (annual conference Nov. 18-20)
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National League of Cities – Youth Civic Engagement
www.nlc.org
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NLC Resources - http://www.nlc.org/
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Youth Service America - http://www.ysa.org/
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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
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Institute for Emerging Issues
http://www.ncsu.edu/iei/
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Search Institute - www.search-institute.org
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• http://foundation
center.org/
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• Federal Grants:
www.grants.gov
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Kickstarter.com
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http://www.ncruralcenter.org/
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Civic Action Project - www.crfcap.org/
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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 preregister 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!
NC State Board of Elections
http://www.sboe.state.nc.us/
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http://kidsvotingusa.org/
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Teaching Tolerance - www.tolerance.org
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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.
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FinanceintheClassroom.org provides highquality personal finance materials for
educators, students and parents
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NC Council for Economic Education
http://nccee.org/Home.htm
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http://www.flcities.com/membership
/library_youth_council_tips.asp
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• 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
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