Yesterday, I began my fellowship placement with the Bridges to Health Program of the Greenlining Institute (www.greenlining.org) in Berkeley, CA. Greenlining is "a multi-ethnic advocacy, research, leadership development, and public policy organization whose ultimate goal is to increase the role that low-income and minority Californians play in the civic arena in order to create equitable policies and improve quality of life for all communities." My initial project focuses on telemedicine as it pertains to medically underserved populations. In addition to being part of YP4's Leadership Academy, the people at Greenlining have been generous enough to include me in their own Fellowship Academy. I'm used to non-profit organizations accepting interns to provide administrative support at little or no cost. However, Greenlining is the first organization that I've come across that is not necessarily youth-focused, but has significantly invested in youth, as indicated by the size of the budget, as well as the amount of space and time allocated to the fellows and the fellowship curriculum. Earlier today, I had lunch with the Academic Director who heads Greenlining's Academy, and asked if we would have opportunities to lobby at the State Capitol. She informed me that, especially during an intense legislative cycle, fellows travel to the State Capitol on a weekly basis. In fact, Greenlining opened a Zipcar account for this purpose. Nevertheless, Greenlining does not just recruit recent college graduates into its fellowship program; it also has an internship component for younger people. So why invest in the "next" generation?

Based on my experience thus far in social justice work, I've learned to tap into the wisdom of the generations who laid the groundwork in the progressive movement. Nevertheless, what I confess to failing to recognize is the need to prepare the generation after me, including adolescents and teenagers, for civic engagement. Yes, I started a mentorship program and continue to serve as a big sister for several youth in the inner city, but for the purpose of helping them get into and graduate from a 4-year university. How about now only empowering them in the classroom, but also in the field? And, not just in terms of volunteering at soup kitchens and cleaning up parks, but also giving them a seat at the table and making them a stakeholder for XYZ cause. Through my campaign efforts, I've met a lot of 16-year-olds who said they support Obama, but aren't old enough to vote. How about tapping into their skillset i.e. phonebanking, web designing, and other tech-oriented areas? I'm sure there are other talents they can offer.

Thus, given that I know my time/life is limited, I know, in the spirit of the Olympics, the torch must be passed on so the fire can keep burning. So, why not fire up a new cohort of torchbearers?