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Engaging with Youth

Welcome youth into collaboration and innovation on activities and practices that serve the community. The first guide gives general tips, and the three project guides provide models of practice. The guides are designed for educators, parents, youth leaders, foundations, nonprofits, and community collaborators.

Service Sparks: Cultural Traditions Calendar

Ignite meaningful action that lights up the world through "Service Sparks" youth projects! Add a variety of cultural holidays to your annual calendar to raise awareness of the variety of ways people celebrate their cultural traditions. Learning about other cultures helps us see the beauty in our similarities and differences. We can reflect on whether there are core values in every culture and how our differences add interest and strength to our community. 

Service Sparks: Community Accessibility Audit

Ignite meaningful action that lights up the world through "Service Sparks" youth projects! Learn about ways people with different disabilities gain equitable access to places. As you walk through the community look at ways we make places more accessible for people with vision, hearing, or mobility issues. When there is room for improvement, take action to raise awareness of needs. 

Read and Discuss Books

These great books help us talk about giving, social justice, diverse people and cultures, challenges people face, and the value of community. We have combined selected literature with thought-provoking discussions and activities. The conversations inspire young people to explore their philanthropic identity. Reading with someone is an opportunity for developing relationships and curiosity across ages and differences.  

What is something that makes you excited to get up in the morning and gives you energy? Whatever that vision is, that is your "spark." Young people may not know what their spark is today, and it may change many times over their lives, but we can start today to explore how generosity could spark meaning in one's day and life. 

Expanding on the lesson about critical conversations, participants explore ways to use their voices for good. The book Say Something by Peter Reynolds encourages readers to find their own way to express their voice - through speaking, poetry, song, and other ways.

This lesson raises awareness of the different ways mental health may reflect in how we think, feel, and act. We can prioritize mental health, like we do with our physical health. This lesson includes a slide deck with tools for what to do when our mental health needs attention.

This activity explores the difference between anti-racism, which includes active steps away from injustice, and non-racism, which is a passive description.

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