By Youth for Youth: LearnServe Student Action Summit!

Youth across the DC area will join us on Saturday for LearnServe's 2020 Student Action Summit! Designed and led by youth for youth, this free day-long conference will focus on ways to get involved in the rising generation of activism, and include workshops on everything from fast fashion, to climate change, to political advocacy on Instagram, to karate.

Featuring keynote speaker Allison Alt, Executive Director of Social Impact 360.

High School students can learn more and register on the LearnServe website.

Catalysts for Change: LearnServe Gala on April 3, 2020

"A rapper, poet, scholar, and activist, Malachi 'MalPractice' Byrd has always believed in the intersection of art and activism," begins Malachi's introduction to his values and work. "Whether in educational opportunities, healthy food access, or police brutality, he is committed to the battle against anti-Blackness."

We are thrilled to recognize Malachi Byrd (LearnServe Fellow 2013) with our Entrepreneurship Award at the LearnServe Gala on Friday, April 3. Barbara Harman, Founder of the Catalogue for Philanthropy, will receive our Civic Champion Award. We will honor educator Ginea Briggs of the School Without Walls with LearnServe's Global Perspectives Award.

Each year, the LearnServe Gala celebrates the power of youth to create change, and the transformative power of social entrepreneurship and global education to shape leaders in our community. We showcase our changemakers and their bold visions to tackle injustices.

This year we celebrate the powerful ripple effects of local social impact, honoring several extraordinary “Catalysts for Change.” Our theme is inspired by LearnServe changemaker Lemoni from Parkdale High School who traveled to Paraguay last summer and encouraged her peers to be catalysts for change at the LearnServe Abroad graduation.

We hope you can join us on Friday, April 3, 2020! Learn more at learn-serve.org/gala.

LearnServe Alumni at the T-Mobile Changemaker Challenge!

LearnServe congratulates alumni Charlotte Rose LaMotte and Amy Wu, selected as winners of the T-Mobile Changemaker Challenge! The challenge, in collaboration with Ashoka, selects "30 bold ideas from young visionaries, advocates, and social entrepreneurs ages 13 to 23 from across the USA and Puerto Rico." Just last week, winners received mentorship, skills development, and community support to accelerate their ideas in an intensive workshop in Seattle.

Charlotte Rose LaMotte (Fellows 2017, Incubator 2018) is the founder of LearnServe social venture A1Centive, a gamified incentive program that encourages teens with Type One diabetes to better manage their blood sugar by rewarding them for staying in range. Ashoka featured (above) Charlotte Rose and her teammate Zayd Ali (Fellows 2017) presenting at the challenge. 

Amy Wu (Fellows 2012) and Vanessa Gill (above, photo credit T-Mobile Changemaker Challenge) were Top Category Winners in Technology as Co-Founders of Social Cipher for Ava's Adventures, a role-playing video game that gives autistic players a safe space to try out social situations and emotional responses. LearnServe honored their work on Ava with the Entrepreneurship Award at our 2019 LearnServe Gala: Bringing Change Together.

From Mentee to Mentor: Julia Weckstein in The Renewal Project

"What could I as a 15-year-old do? Realistically, I lacked many of the skills to fully understand these issues let alone do anything about them," Julia reflected. "LearnServe completely changed that for me. I started as a Fellow where I learned to find root causes of problems by looking at issues from the perspectives of those experiencing them." 

The Renewal Project, a website powered by The Atlantic featured an article written by LearnServe alumna Julia Weckstein (Fellows 2016, Paraguay 2017, Zambia intern 2018) in honor of January 2020 as  National Mentoring Month on her journey from mentee to mentor through LearnServe. You can read the full article here. 

Become a Traveler Who Changes with LearnServe Abroad

Calling all young changemakers! LearnServe Abroad gives you the chance to pursue social innovation projects on a global scale, collaborating with community leaders and your peers in Jamaica, Paraguay, and Zambia to act with intention on everything from renewable energy, sex education, inclusive finance, and criminal justice to youth-led social ventures and activism.

Want to explore the world and join our Travelers Who Change? We invite high school students across the DC area to apply to LearnServe Abroad! Learn more and apply by March 2nd at learn-serve.org/abroad.

What We're Reading: Forbes Calls 2020 "The Decade Of Youth Change-Makers"

"Youth bring a diversity of fresh perspectives and interpretations of the challenges and opportunities the world faces," James da Costa argued in a recent Forbes article, "They are the instigators of movements that speed through our digital and physical worlds and shift culture and attitudes in a manner and with a pace never before seen."

We have learned from 16 years' experience that putting youth in the driver's seat is a powerful force for changemaking. In recent years, we have been heartened to see the global rise of youth changemaking considered with increasing thoughtfulness. This article from Forbes makes the case for centering youth voices in the urgent action needed to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals.