Accepting Applications: Youthprise Change Fellows Program

We've tweeted about this before, but the deadline is today for the Youthprise Change Fellows! Youthprise is seeking young people between the ages of 16 and 25 who are stirring up change in their communities across the state. Fellows will join a cohort of other youth and Twin Cities' leading business professionals in order to exchange knowledge and ideas in a unique experiential learning opportunity!

Change Fellows Application Open

THE BEGINNING OF SOMETHING NEW AND WILDLY ALIVE AT YOUTHPRISE

One of Youthprise’s key strategies for 2013 is the Change Fellows program – a deeper investment in young people reflecting our commitment to finding and investing in initiatives that accelerate learning beyond the classroom. By nurturing innovation and emphasizing deep youth engagement, the Fellowship will not only provide youth with authentic opportunities for leadership and professional experience, but will also create opportunities for young people to take real steps towards the vision they have for their communities.

We are looking for Change Fellows to lead work that will seriously transform Minnesota. Change Fellows are young people between the ages of 16 and 25 who are stirring up currents of change in their communities across the state. They will go through a process that will equip them with the tools they need and help them build a network of support to implement their ‘big idea,’ launch an out-of-school program, or set their innovative solution in motion to address a critical issue in their community. The initiative can be a new concept or an existing model.

Through a collaboration with the University of Minnesota College of Design and Studio/E, a unique experiential learning opportunity, Youthprise Fellows will join a cohort of other youth and Twin Cities’ leading business professionals from fields as diverse as health care to banking. Change Fellows enter the cohort as equal partners with their professional counterparts – allowing the executives the chance to learn from the insights of young people, and giving Change Fellows the chance to engage in the process with adults.

Applications due July 5th, 2013 at 5:00pm CST.

CHANGE FELLOWS PROGRAM GOALS

1) Support young people to drive change in their communities, by backing them to enhance their work, develop the big idea, and link it with what’s going on in broader systems in order to effectively implement and move it to action;

2) Foster the growth of networks of young people who encourage one another, collaborate, and challenge the status quo; and

3) Connect youth with community infrastructure for collaboration, support and the sharing of effective practices.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Age 16-25
• Live in Minnesota
• Must have a commitment to life-long learning and transformation
• Strong  willingness and desire to share and mobilize a big idea
• Proposed project must address an issue in the applicant’s community, whether geographic or other

What does a Change Fellow do?

• 1 year commitment beginning July 30, 2013
• Participate in quarterly sessions with Studio/E and  six cohort development sessions (ten total)
• Curriculum participation, read two books, keep a visual journal,
• Complete implementation plan

 What does a Change Fellow get?

• $2,000 stipend to actively participate
• Studio/E membership
• Curriculum materials
• Opportunity to apply for an implementation grant money after successfully completing the fellowship

 Key Dates:

• Orientation Date:  July 25, 2013,  12:00 – 4:30pm
• Studio E Sessions:  Cohort E: 7/31/2013, 11/13/2013, 2/5/2014, 4/9/2014 or Cohort F: 8/1/2013, 11/14/2013, 2/6/2014, 4/10/2013