YOUTH MAKING A DIFFERENCE

Hands4Hope - Youth Making A Difference’s school-based club program and after-school project committees incorporate our mission by providing opportunities for students to explore needs in their communities, act on them by creating, developing, and implementing service-learning projects, then leading those projects from start to finish.

The Education Program engages youth through positive youth development and service learning. Education is paired with community service to allow youth to learn-by-doing, expand their knowledge of the community, and build valuable life skills. Youth in 6th-12th grades can participate on or off campus in a club or committee. An integral component of the program is leadership development. For youth who want to learn and practice leadership skills, each club and committee is led by a team of youth leaders.

Hands4Hope - Youth Making A Difference leadership is based on servant leadership, which is driven by passion, the desire to take action, and the ability to inspire others to do the same. Youth are offered a variety of leadership development opportunities including camps and workshops, as well as hands-on experiences, including meetings with community leaders and organizations.

In middle and high school clubs, youth work together on their campuses to learn how to identify at least two different community needs annually. This process is done by connecting youth and local agency partners together, so youth can hear first hand about the local community issues for which they are interested. Youth then work together to identify a need within the issue that they can fulfill. After the club determines the need, they begin the process of learning how to create and execute a project. Finally, when project development and implementation is complete, youth learn how to use the start, stop, continue model to reflect and evaluate the project from start to finish. The lessons learned through this full process are a fundamental component in service learning. We always end every project, whether goals were reached or not, with a group celebration! No matter the outcome, lessons were learned.

The after-school committees work very similarly to the clubs, however they have a set focus. They meet 1-2 times a month (after school hours) to plan outreaches, fundraisers, and work on projects to benefit the committee’s focus (homeless, children, etc.). The committee members have opportunities to connect with local agency partners to learn about and/or deepen understanding around the needs in the community in their focus area. Participants then work together with a mentor to create and execute at least two projects annually. After project development and implementation, youth, with coaching as needed, use the start, stop, continue model to reflect and evaluate the project from start to finish. In addition to project development and implementation, each committee also hosts monthly outreaches that they help plan and organize as well as oversee as youth leads.