YOUTH LEAD OKC?

Youth LEAD OKC IS
   Togetherness Educate Communication	Peace Unity Equality	Informing the next generation Making a better future Understanding our own community	Identifying who you are Against racism, segregation and clicks
Youth LEAD OKC IS
Eradicating poverty Equality, compassion, open  minded	Stop bullying Kindness, thoughtfulness, being helpful	Destroys stereotypes New, improvement, rebirth\	Stop Hunger Uniting kindness
Youth LEAD OKC IS
Olive branch Symbolize peace	Flowers Supports love and grows	A tree Provides oxygen  and life, creates habitats	A rock Stability
Youth LEAD OKC IS
Diverse cultures Ambition Public Speaking/ Confidence Engaging across differences	Diversity Encouraging Learn about other religions Communication	Have the same goal Open minded More people have the same goals The needs in our community	Diverse Engaging Facilitate Leadership
Youth LEAD OKC IS
Catholic, Christian, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim Way of life	Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Methodist, Athiesm Culture is the foundation of the group	Muslim, Catholic, Christian, Hindu, non-believers, Jewish, White, Hispanic Diversity of backgrounds	Catholic, Jewish, Atheist, Christian, Islamic Cultural Diversity
Youth LEAD OKC IS
Skittles, cookies, Take-out Training Became closer	Chinese, pizza, and tacos YL Training day Getting to know people	Cookies, pizza, water Tabitha Training	Cookies, tacos Training with Tabitha Playing games
Youth LEAD OKC IS
Make a difference	To grow and make a difference	A group that actually helps the community come together	Holding events

Youth LEAD OKC (YLOKC) is a cultural competency and service-learning youth board.  Teens reflect on their similarities and differences.  Connect to their personal passions to serve and act through service-learning experiences of youth voice and choice.  

Multicultural Experience for Positive Tomorrows

LEAD stands for Leaders Engaging Across Differences.  During meetings, teens enhance 21 Century Skills and collaborate across differences to develop service-learning experiences, addressing community needs.

The School Year 2014-2015 was Youth LEAD OKC's first year of full operations.  YLOKC had teens and adults from 10 schools and organizations participating in meetings and projects such as a stereotypes workshop for Boys and Girls Club, a debate about storm shelters for Oklahoma City public schools, and a screening and discussion of a documentary about migrant workers'
children, "La Cosecha."  The big outreach project of the year was a cultural fest, holiday book giveaway for Positive Tomorrows School in partnership with the Come and Read with Me Program of the Metropolitan Library Systems. Youth LEAD also participated in MLK Service Day Advocacy-volunteering at the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma and promoting a viewing and discussion of the movie SELMA.  During the recruitment party in August 2014, YLOKC made pinwheels for Peace to raise awareness of the International Day of Peace and fundraising to help build a house for foster children at Peppers Ranch.  YLOKC also collaborated with the Interfaith Alliance and the Casady Service-Learning Program raising awareness of the International Day of Peace at the Day of Kids at Boys and Girls Club and with the Oklahoma Conference of Churches participating and helping plan the reflective component of the Interfaith Youth Tour.  The final school year 2014-2015 collaboration came in the form of being a welcoming committee to the film "The Other Son" sponsored by the Jewish Muslim Film Institute and the Respect Diversity Foundation.

The idea of a cultural competency, service-learning teen board came from Youth LEAD ONLINE Sharon.  After attending her first Youth LEAD Online TIDE Conference in Boston, Sidney J',15 from Casady, in collaboration with Sam K'15 from Heritage Hall, Dane N'15 from Douglas High School and Sirenee K'16 from Edmond Santa Fe via Mercy School Institute started recruitment of teen members for the pilot YLOKC. The year was spent in training sessions and the group had one service-learning experience helping clean-up after the Moore Tornado with a Field of Teams of teens from all over the USA. Some members also collaborated with the Global Youth YMCA Program during their service project for tornado relief.  

The initial supporting and ongoing collaborating agencies and schools are the YMCA Youth Initiatives Program, that provided the funding for 3 training sessions from Youth LEAD Online facilitated by Tabitha May-Tolub, Roots and Wings consultant.   The  Casady Service-Learning Program, the Respect Diversity Foundation, CAIR/Interfaith Alliance OKC-Mercy School Institute, Heritage Hall and Douglas High School provide adult mentors, rotating locations and snacks for meetings.

Youth LEAD OKC meets on Sundays _first Sunday, unless noted_ from 1:30-3:30 pm at rotating locations of participating high schools and partner organization headquarters. 

The planning teen team meets one hour to 30 minutes earlier, as needed by the agenda items, and stays 30 minutes after for debriefing and to set up the next month's agenda.  

In the school year 2014-2015 there was also an overnight training at Camp Fire USA led by Tabitha.  The lock -in focused on project planning and ice breakers facilitation. 

There is an annual fee to belong to YLOKC, but there is also a YMCA-YLOKC scholarship fund.  The fee covers the YLOKC T-shirt and helps with meeting operating expenses.  

Youth LEAD OKC is seeking new high school members, especially rising 9th graders, for the school year 2015-2016. Contact clayc@casady.org, 405-520-1325  or spresti@ymcaokc.org, 405-361-8825 if interested.