Many people talk about youth as leaders, but in my own personal experience, leaders are people who have a passion for something, and who invite others to help them solve that problem.
My passion is helping tutor/mentor programs like Cabrini Connections grow in high poverty neighborhoods. Within each of these programs my passion is to inspire the youth, volunteers, staff and donors to constnatly learn from the work of others that they meet via the Internet, to innovate on a daily basis better ways to help our teens stay in school, stay safe during non school hours, and build an adult network that will help them move into jobs and careers as they go their their mid-twenties.
One way I do this is to share ideas that I find via my networking on the Internet.
Here's a link to a youth program in the Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago, in which youth are becoming environmental advocates, and are learning to use web technologies to organize and communicate their messages.
What are the causes our youth might become passionate about?
How about the envirionment? How about the health issues of wounded soldiers coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan? How about the social injustices and inequalities of poverty?
How do we lead our teens into this type of involvement? We recruit volunteers who have a passion for these issues themselves, and who will form learning circles at Cabrini Connections, or who will use the tech club, art club, video or writing clubs, as opportunities to teach the communications tools kids need, while providing content ideas through study of social issues.
Are you the type of volunteer who would like to help organize these types of learning circles? If yes, contact us at 312-492-9614 or info1@cabriniconnections.net
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