Imagine being the youngest in the group and having no voice in a decision that affects you—like what you’re doing on the weekend. Well, that’s exactly how youth feel. With having no say in how they spend their time in school and youth programs, youth often feel powerless and detached from these spaces. Thankfully, some… Read more »
Category: Youth Voice
“A Place I Feel at Home.”
Having grown up in Vermont and participated in afterschool and summer programs in my community, I know the importance of having a fun and safe space to go afterschool and during the summer, and the impact these third spaces can have on a child’s life. As Vermont Afterschool’s summer communications intern, I’ve been able to… Read more »
Vermont State Youth Council Holds Inaugural Meeting
A group of 28 newly appointed young leaders from across the state met this week to convene the first meeting of the Vermont State Youth Council. The full-day session, held at the Vermont History Museum in Montpelier, brought together a diverse group of youth across ages, grades, genders, lived experiences, policy interests, and other characteristics.… Read more »
Youth Focus Group Recommendations
As you all know, Vermont Afterschool has a mission of strengthening programs, building partnerships, and transforming communities so that all Vermont youth are active, engaged, connected, and heard. We have been encouraging, supporting, and sometimes challenging youth-serving organizations to intentionally create space for youth voice and youth leadership in their programs. This summer, we went… Read more »
Another Year of Youth Council Grants!
Vermont Afterschool, Inc. is pleased to announce that we are able to offer Youth Council Grants to four programs in Chittenden, Washington, and Orange counties for the 2021-2022 school year. These grants are offered to programs to help start or expand a youth council, as well as create a participatory budgeting process for youth driven projects in the community.… Read more »
Virtual Youth Summit 2021
In an effort to provide an outlet for Vermont youth to share their pandemic experiences, Governor Phil Scott, the Vermont Department of Mental Health and Vermont Afterschool held a Virtual Youth Summit on March 25, 2021. The event asked students from across the state to share their experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic, giving the Governor… Read more »
2020 Youth Council Grants Awarded to Third Space Programs Across VT
Four projects have been selected by Vermont Afterschool to receive a Youth Council Grant that will support the formation of local youth councils across Vermont. Funded by the Northfield Savings Bank Foundation, the grants will go to the City of Winooski Community Services Department, Burlington High School Expanded Learning Program, Outright Vermont, and CVSU Afterschool… Read more »
Youth Voice Community of Practice: Supporting Youth and Each Other
The Youth Voice Community of Practice gathered again this month to discuss their work and how we can all do better in supporting youth voice. After a silly icebreaker that involved guessing chain restaurants from obscured pictures of their logos, we got into the real heart of the discussion. First up was Russell Bradbury-Carlin, who… Read more »
Youth Council for Youth Issues in Vermont
By Grace W., a member of Vermont Afterschool’s youth leadership council For the past few months I have been working with other youth from across Vermont to get a bill set up and hopefully passed in 2021. What is the bill for you may ask? Well, we believe that youth should have a voice in… Read more »
COVID-19: A Perspective From Vermont’s Youth Centers
Recently Vermont Afterschool reached out to the youth centers and other drop-in based programs that serve adolescents and young adults across the state to see how they were doing, especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Vermont Afterschool convenes a group known as VYCA: The Vermont Youth Center Alliance. Programs meet up on monthly calls… Read more »
