Youth Council

Social Capital Inc. and the Boys & Girls Club of Woburn are teaming up to start a new Youth Council in Burlington for the 2009-2010 year. Plenty of volunteer opportunities will become available through the start of this Youth Council. The Youth Council is a wonderful opportunity for students to create changes for the better within their own community, based on their personal interests and ideas. Any Burlington students, ages 12-18 interested in gaining valuable leadership skills and learning how to create change within their community, should pick up an application in the Burlington High Principal's office, or can download one here.  read more »

Just as the leaves are beginning to change…

SCI youth leaders are beginning to make change…

As the leaves start to turn in the Boston area, SCI is training 220 young leaders to collaborate effectively, make connections, bridge differences, and nurture social networks to make change long after this autumns’ leaves have fallen.

SCI youth leaders will tackle issues they are passionate about such as hunger, teen violence, and the environment. Guided by the new Social Capitalist curriculum, they will develop leadership skills for a lifetime of service and success.

But we need your help to nurture the next generation of civic leaders. As grant budgets tighten, we seek to expand our base of individual donors to make sure the teens that want to make a difference have the tools they need to do so.  read more »

The Woburn Youth Council is proud to announce it has decided to fund 6 mini-grant projects.  Each project funded by the Woburn Youth Council is a community service learning project led by a Woburn youth.   The projects accomplish SCI's major goals in its youth programming: engage youth in service of their community and create a new generation of young leaders. 

The youth council will fund the following projects:  read more »

On Saturday, June 14, 2008, Social Capital Inc. (SCI) launched the First Annual Youth Civic Showcase and Awards. This new and exciting event attracted a diverse group of youth participants from Lynn, Dorchester, and Woburn, all of whom participate in SCI’s statewide Engaging Youth Program. Each youth group presented their civic projects from the 2007-2008 service year.  read more »

No matter what, I always get far more out of wonderful events like that than I could possibly contribute, and I am writing to thank you for the invitation to attend.

I spoke to the "Don't SPOT the Dot" group alone, and asked about rats; they reported that the population declined, and that a Chinese grocer had been very surprised and appreciative that his rat problem had been resolved when he was encouraged to cease his practice of keeping oils and other "food" near, not in, the dumpster.  read more »

The Governor's Statewide Youth Council is one part of Governor Patrick's commitment to engaging all citizens of the Commonwealth in their communities and their government. The Youth Council initiative will encourage and motivate young people to be involved in their communities and to participate in problem solving through assuming leadership and planning roles. Once established, the Youth Council will focus on the Governor's priorities of education, economic development, civic engagement, and community outreach, advising the Governor as representatives of all Massachusetts young people.

Selection of the council will be by application, which is available at www.mass.gov/governor/youthcouncil. The deadline is May 30, 2008. A selection committee will review the applications and select the 28 members, who will then be notified via mail.

On Saturday, March 29 at 450 Washington Street in Dorchester, SCI's Lynn, Woburn and Dorchester Youth council's were building social capital. The youth started their day off with a networking activity to get them aware of what they do everyday but to take it a step further.

Youth dined on a beautiful and tasty nutritious organic lunch , which was prepared by Miscellaneous. She prepared a mouth watering potato and egg salad, a batch of chicken which was either curry, BBQ or plain, a beautiful crisp bright juicy salad with her famously renowned mustard dressing and tofu.

After lunch, the youth was actively engaged in 3 presentations which all had one theme, social capital. The youth program coordinators from all 3 SCI sites: Lynn, Woburn and Dorchester talked about how music and art are ways people create social change. With music from Billy Holiday "Strange Fruit" and art from J.W. Turner "The Slave Ship", all helped the youth think of how simple things make a difference.

It doesn't take a whole lot of brain power to make something happen. Here is the formula to make social change.

Things you need:
1. An issue to address
2. A medium (canvas, paper, speaking, singing, etc.)
3. The most important piece. You!!!  read more »