From a cultural diversity day to building school bike trails to a writing workshop to a rabbit adoption event, 14 different youth-led projects are about to launch across Vermont thanks to the 2019 Youth4Youth Grants.

Grant amounts ranged from $100 to $3000 and were open to any Vermont youth age 10 to 22 to apply. Young people from all across the state voted on the 44 proposals and selected the 14 finalists. The 14 grant recipients were announced in April with an awards ceremony at the State House on April 12, 2019.

Miles Robbason, an 11-year-old from West Rutland, wrote a grant called “STEAMing All the Way to California.” The grant will fund his Lego Robotics team to travel to California, where his team will show off their robot they built that does autonomous missions.

“This grant is going to be really helpful for us because the cost of this experience is staggering,” explained Miles. “This is a one in a lifetime experience.”

Alia Ross, a 14-year-old from Winooski, co-wrote a grant with three other Winooski students that will create supervised areas in the Winooski Middle/High School where teens can hang out after school ends when waiting for sports practice to start, or waiting for a ride to pick them up, or simply have a safe place to be with friends or do homework.

“We’re really excited for this grant,” emphasized Ross. “We aim to get it up and running in just a few weeks.”

A project of Vermont Afterschool, the statewide Vermont Youth Council designed the grant program with the goal of inspiring youth-initiated projects that will benefit Vermont’s young people. The grant program funded proposals across Vermont that promote a wide array of rights identified in the Youth Declaration of Rights, which was written in Fall 2017 exclusively by youth between ages 9 and 22.

This is the first year of the Youth4Youth Grants, with plans to expand the grant process for the next round of funding.

“We so grateful to the Vermont Department of Health for supporting this project,” stated Vermont Afterschool Executive Director Holly Morehouse. The Department of Health provided funding for the Youth4Youth grants, as well as to Vermont Afterschool for the creation of the Vermont Youth Council and a new statewide initiative focused on elevating youth voice.

According to Morehouse, “We cannot underestimate the importance of fostering a sense of belonging for our young people, which in turn connects to healthy lives and well-being. This is an important step for our state to recognize and support our youth in helping them to feel empowered, try new things, and feel connected within their communities.”

2019 Youth4Youth Grant Awardees