Youth Leadership & Thriving Communities

Melvindale Thrive Youth Leadership & Thriving Communities

Melvindale Thrive Initiative’s Youth Leadership & Thriving Communities program gives young people meaningful opportunities to lead, serve, learn new skills, and take an active role in improving their community.

Youth participants will not simply attend programs — they will help us plan, organize, and carry them out. They may assist with Allen Road Adopt-a-Road cleanups and other neighborhood beautification projects; help organize and support art, STEAM, music, and youth enrichment activities; assist with community events; support younger children during programs; help with setup, cleanup, supplies, registration, outreach, and volunteer coordination; and participate in environmental, literacy, food-access, and community-service projects.

Youth leaders will also help MTI work toward its larger organizational goals by sharing the youth perspective, identifying needs in the community, suggesting new programs and projects, helping evaluate what is working, and participating in activities that strengthen neighborhoods and bring residents together.

The program includes two connected opportunities:

Youth Advisory Council (YAC) — Youth members provide ideas, feedback, and recommendations to MTI leadership and help ensure young people have a meaningful voice in the organization’s programs, priorities, projects, and future planning.

Youth Leadership Corps — Youth members take an active, hands-on role in service projects, community cleanups, events, neighborhood improvement and safety activities, arts and enrichment programming, environmental projects, volunteer activities, and other MTI initiatives.

Through these experiences, young people can develop leadership, teamwork, communication, organization, responsibility, problem-solving, event-planning, and community-service skills while completing meaningful volunteer service.

Our goal is to give youth a real place at the table and real responsibilities in the community — helping them grow into the volunteers, organizers, professionals, and community leaders of tomorrow.

Engaged youth today. Stronger leaders tomorrow. Thriving communities for generations to come.

Students may apply for the Youth Advisory Council, Youth Leadership Corps, or both.

Link:

forms.gle/nzFL3Y5Nb8MtYBNSA 

Students selected for participation are expected to make a good-faith commitment for the school year. Parent or legal guardian participation and consent requirements are included in the application.