Help youth travel to Oakland, CA
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We represent youth from all over the Twin Cities Metro region in Minnesota. For the last three years, our different groups of youth have been doing work in our communities all over the Minneapolis and St. Paul region. Together, we've been developing skills as youth researchers, community organizers, and activists. As individual organizations, our groups have done projects that focus on community-based solutions to things like food justice in low-income neighborhoods, to language rights in local high schools, to research on the continuing impact of European colonization on youth and communities of color, to sustainability using aquaponics, to student organizing to increase teachers of color in the Twin Cities.
Our groups are made up mostly of youth of color and we approach our work in different ways, but what we share is a commitment to educating ourselves and each other and to improving our communities from within.
We've been accepted to share the work we do and to lead a workshop to support groups from across the country to map the work they are doing so that groups can find each other and connect over similar ideas, skills, and values. We believe that by mapping and connecting our groups with one another, we can inspire more youth to organize, research what they care about, and take action to make a difference.
Who we are:
Youth from the Kitty Anderson Youth Science Center. We have several "crews" that represent different interests and neighborhoods in St. Paul.
The Uhuru Youth Scholars. We use African knowledge systems to do action research for the purpose of educating ourselves and others about different issues, such as access to Historically Black Colleges and Universities and challenging beauty standards.
Jóvenes con Derechos. We are a group of Spanish speaking high school students who advocate for language rights in schools and for learning about different Latino heritages.
Some of us have worked together based on shared values, resources , and skills. We believe our work is made stronger when we do this and we will be sharing ways to do this intentionally with others at the Free Minds, Free People conference in Oakland, CA on July 9-12, 2015.
Where we are going:
We've been asked to send representatives of our groups to lead a workshop about how to virtually map assets and resources in local and regional areas. Virtual mapping makes these visible. It also shows how different groups share interests, have unique strengths, and could use different skills that others may have to be most effective.
Not only will we lead this workshop, we'll also attend other workshops, where we'll gain new tools to continue and strengthen the projects we are doing in our home communities.
The Free Minds, Free People conference only happens every other year. This year, it is being held in Oakland, CA from July 9-12, 2015. (http://www.fmfp.org) But we need support to make this trip happen - and you can help!
How you can support us!
We're estimating the full cost of the trip (for 8 high-school aged youth and 4 adults) will be $8,000. Every amount you donate can help make it possible for somebody to attend. Here's our break-down per person:
Travel: $450 (roundtrip airfare and transportation to and from the airports in Minneapolis and Oakland)
Housing: $90 (@ $30/night for 3 nights)
Food: $100 (@$25/day for 4 days)
Total: $640 (/person)
Benefit to youth:
The benefits of being able to travel to this conference are immeasurable. Not only will we have the experience of presenting at a national conference, we will also learn so much and be able to bring back new knowledge and skills to our organizations. As young people, we will use all of this to continue to build confidence in our ability to be community leaders and we believe this will translate into broader movements for educational and social justice in the Twin Cities.
Thank you so much for helping make this possible for us and for supporting youth taking actions for positive change! Any amount of support would be greatly appreciated.
Representatives of the Twin Cities youth collectives:
Jóvenes con Derechos (Roosevelt High School), Uhuru Youth Scholars (Network for the Development of Children of African Descent), Kitty Anderson Youth Science Center (Science Museum of Minnesota), Twin Cities Social Justice Education Fair, Youthprise, New Lens Mentoring
Our groups are made up mostly of youth of color and we approach our work in different ways, but what we share is a commitment to educating ourselves and each other and to improving our communities from within.
We've been accepted to share the work we do and to lead a workshop to support groups from across the country to map the work they are doing so that groups can find each other and connect over similar ideas, skills, and values. We believe that by mapping and connecting our groups with one another, we can inspire more youth to organize, research what they care about, and take action to make a difference.
Who we are:
Youth from the Kitty Anderson Youth Science Center. We have several "crews" that represent different interests and neighborhoods in St. Paul.
The Uhuru Youth Scholars. We use African knowledge systems to do action research for the purpose of educating ourselves and others about different issues, such as access to Historically Black Colleges and Universities and challenging beauty standards.
Jóvenes con Derechos. We are a group of Spanish speaking high school students who advocate for language rights in schools and for learning about different Latino heritages.
Some of us have worked together based on shared values, resources , and skills. We believe our work is made stronger when we do this and we will be sharing ways to do this intentionally with others at the Free Minds, Free People conference in Oakland, CA on July 9-12, 2015.
Where we are going:
We've been asked to send representatives of our groups to lead a workshop about how to virtually map assets and resources in local and regional areas. Virtual mapping makes these visible. It also shows how different groups share interests, have unique strengths, and could use different skills that others may have to be most effective.
Not only will we lead this workshop, we'll also attend other workshops, where we'll gain new tools to continue and strengthen the projects we are doing in our home communities.
The Free Minds, Free People conference only happens every other year. This year, it is being held in Oakland, CA from July 9-12, 2015. (http://www.fmfp.org) But we need support to make this trip happen - and you can help!
How you can support us!
We're estimating the full cost of the trip (for 8 high-school aged youth and 4 adults) will be $8,000. Every amount you donate can help make it possible for somebody to attend. Here's our break-down per person:
Travel: $450 (roundtrip airfare and transportation to and from the airports in Minneapolis and Oakland)
Housing: $90 (@ $30/night for 3 nights)
Food: $100 (@$25/day for 4 days)
Total: $640 (/person)
Benefit to youth:
The benefits of being able to travel to this conference are immeasurable. Not only will we have the experience of presenting at a national conference, we will also learn so much and be able to bring back new knowledge and skills to our organizations. As young people, we will use all of this to continue to build confidence in our ability to be community leaders and we believe this will translate into broader movements for educational and social justice in the Twin Cities.
Thank you so much for helping make this possible for us and for supporting youth taking actions for positive change! Any amount of support would be greatly appreciated.
Representatives of the Twin Cities youth collectives:
Jóvenes con Derechos (Roosevelt High School), Uhuru Youth Scholars (Network for the Development of Children of African Descent), Kitty Anderson Youth Science Center (Science Museum of Minnesota), Twin Cities Social Justice Education Fair, Youthprise, New Lens Mentoring
Organizer
Jenna Cushing-Leubner
Organizer
Minneapolis, MN
