The Vermont Youth Project is ready to support your community to uplift, engage, and empower your young people. Whether your community has just started the conversation or are champions at youth voice, VYP is adaptable to your needs! VYP is offering 3 tiers of support tailored to meet the needs of your community. If you are interested in bringing VYP to your community, please apply before December 13, 2024.
The Vermont Youth Project (VYP) is a statewide initiative created by Vermont Afterschool to support Vermont communities with building an environment that embraces positive youth development.
VYP began in 2019 with a commitment from five Vermont communities to establish local coalitions representative of schools, youth agencies, parents and caregivers, public health officials, afterschool and summer learning programs, clinical providers, law enforcement, policymakers, youth leaders, and community partners.
In addition to the local coalitions, Vermont Youth Project has been dedicated to supporting youth voice and engagement.
Since 2019, VYP has supported 8–10 local youth councils across Vermont. Because we do not expect any group of youth to represent the viewpoints of all youth in their community, we work with communities and local organizations to build youth councils with a central focus on amplifying the voices of as many youth as possible at every stage of the process.
With generous support from Northfield Savings Bank Foundation and the Vermont Department of Health, the Vermont Youth Project provided $95,000 in grant funding that allowed for stipends for participating youth and funds to support youth-driven projects. The local youth councils were guided through a participatory budgeting process that gave youth the opportunity to submit project proposals to address community needs and allowed local youth to vote on the projects they wanted to fund, such as a chicken coop, a teen hangout space, a Dungeons and Dragons Club, and an Art and Skate Night for BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and neurodivergent youth.
In 2023, building on the success of local coalitions and youth councils and with funding secured by US Senator Bernie Sanders, VYP engaged with five local communities—Barre, Bennington, Cabot, Rutland County, and Franklin County—each of which was allotted $44,000 for the purpose of creating more youth-friendly community spaces. In each community, VYP supported a local coalition and youth council through an asset mapping and needs assessment process and with the development of an implementation plan for youth-driven initiatives and proposals, such as a Youth Open Mic series, a Youth Extravaganza event, and multiple spaces for teens including a gym and teen center.
Each VYP community is focused on empowering youth and creating healthy accessible spaces for youth to be themselves, engage with peers, learn new skills, and connect with caring adults. We can’t wait to see what the next VYP community dreams up. We know it will be amazing.
