Youth in the USA

Political Advocacy Youth Volunteering

Topics in the Area of Children and Youth

During middle school and high school, youth are able to get involved with volunteering through local organizations.

Some schools build partnerships with organizations so that they can create a club or an avenue for their students to get involved with volunteering. These organizations can vary, but there are also some national organizations with local chapters that many students throughout the United States volunteer with. In addition to clubs and school-based organizations with which students participate, there are also several youth-based political advocacy organizations that have grown significantly over the years. These include the Sierra Club Student Coalition, the Sunrise Movement, and March for our Lives.

 

The Sierra Club

The Sierra Club Student Coalition was founded in 1991 and is a network of young people ages fourteen to thirty-five who have been organizing for climate, racial, and economic justice within the United States. The Sierra Club Student Coalition has Sprog, an intensive leadership and training program that teaches young people across the United States how to engage with political activism and organizing. It also hosts the Climate Justice Academy, a nine-week organizing fellowship for young people who then work on projects in their local communities related to climate justice. There are also popular education initiatives, as well as campaigns to promote investment in a Green New Deal and Black liberation from systemic anti-Black racism.

 

Sunrise Movement

The Sunrise Movement is another political advocacy organization for young people that advocates for climate justice in the United States that was founded in 2017. While it was initially created with the goal of pushing elected officials to support renewable energy, the scope of their initiatives and influence has grown substantially since its founding. Their campaigns have included advocating for a Green New Deal, a new government Civilian Climate Corps program, a just transition away from fossil fuels that promotes good jobs, and supporting progressive political campaigns at the local and national level. Their national organization has four divisions focused on organizing, communications, partnerships along with politics, and operations. Additionally, they have over 400 local hubs in all fifty states.

 

March for Our Lives

March for Our Lives was an initiative that began in 2018 after a school shooting  at a high school in Parkland, Florida, that killed seventeen people and injured another seventeen. On March 24th, 2018, the students organized a larger demonstration in Washington D.C. along with other cities around the U.S. to advocate for gun-control legislation. This demonstration included students from the Parkland school, as well as survivors from other school shootings around the United States, speaking out about their experience. The demonstration received significant public and celebrity support as well as funding.

Since then, the group of students have participated in significant political advocacy with the goal of eliminating gun violence. Their policy priorities include eliminating the cultural glorification of guns, armed supremacy, political apathy and corruption, poverty, and the mental health crisis within the United States.

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Youth in the USA
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Chapter "Topics in the Area of Children and Youth" and overview of all subchapters