So last Friday we had our last Brown Bag Lunch of the summer here at YP4 :-( It focused on the youth movement, where it's been and where it needs to go.

So, I was going to wait until the end of the day to put up another blog about the Leadership Academy retreat in Connecticut. But this conversation is too interesting to me not to document and post right away: Fellows are debating Young People For's place on the ideology spectrum. The spectrum, most simplistically interpreted, is plotted this way (Left to Right): Radical, Systemic, Liberal, Neo Liberal, Conservative, Far Right.

I started out in the progressive movement through the amazing fellowship of Young People For.   As part of the introductory class (2005) the camaraderie between the fellows as well as staff was high and genuine; never before had I experienced such a feeling of support and understanding around issues that were important to me.  Often times I ponder the opportunities given, the people I have had the pleasure of meeting, and the relationships developed because of my involvement with YP4.  During this time the thought which emerged was “where would my activism be?”   

I wanted to just say congrats to all of the new leaders selected in the Leadership Academy. I know a lot of you peeps. I wish you much continued success! Keep on moving and never look back... you are on your way to becoming the next ______ ...U Fill in the Blank!

 Amor,

kYm

Sr.Fellow

Class of 2007 

Right-wingers say the darndest things.

The folks over at Love Global Warming — no joke, that's the name of the blog — are bent on revealing the truth about Young People For and other "so-called environmentalist organizations that prey on young people all over the free world."

Apparently YP4 is a "communist front [organization] whose only reason for existence is to trick the youth of America into throwing out our way of life and adopting communist ideologies."

I had the privilege of attending the Bill Moyers (and Phil Donahue) talk at the 92nd Street Y last Tuesday. A wonderful supporter of our work handed me a copy of Moyers on Democracy. It wasn't until I got back to the office that I noticed (with some prompting from Aliza) that it was signed.

I wanted to share Bill Moyers’ kind words with everyone:

For my friends at YPF–

It’s your fight now, and it’s in good hands. Thank you for rekindling my faith in your generation.

Bill Moyers

We're genuinely touched. (And lining up to read the book.)

I sat down with fellows Matt Popek and Trey Thomas to talk about their organization Penn State Represent, the sexiness of non-partisan voter registration and the ways football and politics don't mix. At certain points chaos ensues, and we learn the power of positive thinking. Check it out!

As I mentioned in parts one and two of this series, there’s power in funding your own movement and in having a broad base of support. When we support our own projects, we get to decide what we work on and our continued existence becomes less dependent on any single source.

As part of walking the walk here, we’re now accepting blogads in the sidebar of the YP4 Blog. We’re screening them for congruence with our values. Nonprofits, progressive blogs and socially responsible businesses? Absolutely. Soulless corporations? Not so much.

We intend blog advertising to become another intentional way to build our network and strengthen our partnerships.

Wow! Summer! You've studied hard and worked hard, now it's time to lay back in the sun.

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Or not. Instead of letting your brains rot away under some umbrella while you sip a drink that also has an umbrella, you should take the time to brush up on your activist strategies. Lucky as you are, you don't even have to look because YP4 has tons of resources available so you can learn something as your skin silently screams for relief from the sun.

Strategy Papers

Little Black Books

Progressive Academy Online