ABOVE PHOTO: State Farm Check Presentation to Youth Action (left- right) Jade Winn McNeil ILP ‘17, Milan Ford ILP ‘17, Shania Davis ILP ‘17, Derrick Dow II ILP ‘17, Sharon Owens- State Farm Agent, Anthony Phillips- Managing Director, Justin Felin ILP ‘17, Yasmin Khan ILP ‘15 & ILP Facilitator, and Dwayne Redd- State Farm Community Field Specialist
State Farm’s Youth Advisory Board has named Youth Action a 2016 grant recipient, awarding $99,750 to Youth Action’s “Inspiring Leaders Program.” This past weekend, while over 80 of their student members volunteered at the Share Food Program in North Philadelphia, State Farm officials made a check presentation to go towards their Inspiring Leaders Program.
“We are so grateful to our wonderful supporters at State Farm for this generous award,” says Anthony Phillips, Managing Director of Youth Action. “We are so proud that a national philanthropic leader has recognized the outstanding service work that our members have performed in the city of Philadelphia since 2003. We look forward to expanding the Inspiring Leaders Program over the course of this service year thanks to this incredible contribution!”
The Inspiring Leaders Program (ILP) is a leadership development and civic engagement program designed to galvanize high school students in the 9th and 10th grades to become community leaders and active change makers in their communities and beyond. ILP members take part in fun, interactive sessions that strengthen their individual leadership skills and project planning skills. Members collectively brainstorm creative ways in which they can address a community issue in a positive, impactful and sustainable way and are challenged to create and submit a comprehensive project proposal for approval.
Youth Action’s service learning approach will engage students to reflect on their leadership potential and ways they can empower their communities. Feedback from recent surveys in the past three years indicate that 98 percent of students who participated in ILP, not only became more engaged in their communities but are also more committed to attending and graduating college. Youth Action utilizes a curriculum that allows young people to think deeply about what a leader is and the goals they wish to set for themselves and their communities. Students in ILP learn how to plan and execute service projects for youth that are engaging. For example, previous ILP cohorts have organized a festival to raise funds for cancer research, a city-wide recycling competition to address pollution, a violence prevention forum/fashion show, and a forum on self-confidence/bullying.
This grant will allow ILP participants to broaden their service projects, as well as expand Youth Action’s ability to support ILP participants with both community and educational experiences.
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