TEENS TAKE THE CITY
Are you a New York City teen looking to be heard, make a difference in your community, or change the world?
If you are, you need to join YMCA Teens Take the City. Teens Take the City is a dynamic leadership development program that offers teens opportunities to roll up their sleeves and get involved in issues affecting them and their community. Participants embark on an eight-month adventure where they explore four fundamental areas of civic involvement:
- What's the Problem? Teens engage in community mapping and interviewing activities to figure how to better their community. Students work in small groups to identify a policy proposal/resolution idea.
- What Can We Do? Students develop a policy proposal, learn the history and function of NYC government, read City Council Committee Reports, and meet and interview a NYC official. At the end of this component, teens gather at a citywide mid-program event to elect a Youth Mayor, Youth Borough Presidents, and prepare for the City Hall Conference.
- Let's Take Action! Once students have developed a policy proposal they will implement their initiatives in their respective communities through service learning activities.
- Here's Our Answer! The program culminates with a day of legislative hearings at NY City Hall where participants showcase their research and resolutions to their peers.
Interested? Teens Take the City is at every YMCA branch in the five boroughs, so call us! If you are interested in volunteering or supporting Teens Take the City please contact Dana Mantella at 212-630-9696 or dmantella@ymcanyc.org.
Teens Take the City is free, thanks to generous sponsorship by New York City Council, Con Edison, MetLife Foundation and Badgeley Residuary Charitable Trust.
