Initiative

YOU Be the Change

Turning student creativity into civic action.

Community
Schools
Events

YOU Be the Change is a youth arts, advocacy, and civic engagement program that empowers students to become confident self-advocates, creative problem-solvers, and future leaders.

Students identify issues that matter in their schools and communities, then use arts, media, storytelling, research, and creative technology to design campaigns that build awareness, inspire action, and create meaningful change.

The opportunity

Young people are often asked what they think about the issues affecting them. They're given far fewer opportunities to lead the response. YOU Be the Change gives students the structure, tools, mentorship, and platform to move from having an opinion to taking action, while developing skills they can carry into college, careers, leadership, and civic life.

The Music to the Ears approach

Center student voice around real school and community issues
Organize students into teams with professional roles including researchers, designers, writers, presenters, and documentarians
Build skills in research, communication, design, media, storytelling, and public speaking
Connect student teams with mentors, community organizations, and local leaders
Turn ideas into campaigns with measurable goals, results, and real audiences

The experience

Students move from identifying an issue to researching it, developing a strategy, creating campaign materials, producing media, and presenting their ideas publicly.

Using tools such as Canva for Education and mobile media production, students create work designed to inform and influence, not simply complete an assignment.

Each cohort culminates in a student-led showcase, assembly, or community press conference, with projects documented in a published Changemakers Yearbook that captures the ideas, campaigns, and impact created by students.