Senior Fellowship Opportunities: Blueprint Reminder!

Ongoing financial and organizational support are available to those who have completed the yearlong fellowship and are still on campus for the continued development and expansion of existing Blueprints for Social Justice. YP4 will continue to support Blueprints that are intentional, sustainable and community-driven. Continuing fellows who wish to strengthen existing Blueprints or create succession plans for successful Blueprints are encouraged to apply for additional support and funding by March 28.

[ Contact Rachel Burrows to apply ]

The Capacity Building program

There are times in our lives when we need to take a step back and evaluate how we can be more effective in our roles as change agents. This year, YP4 will select up to 24 fellows who are at points of transition in their lives and could use additional support in creating a sustainable leadership role on their campuses, in their communities, and beyond. The Capacity Building Program provides direct, personalized leadership development support through six group professional development sessions, six individualized leadership coaching sessions, and the opportunity to either complete a Blueprint for Social Justice or receive a 10-week paid internship.

Twelve 2008 fellows will begin the spring Capacity Building program in March. We are now accepting applications for the summer sessions, which begin in July. Applications are due June 13. If you are in a transitional phase—whether you are transferring from a community college, graduating this year, or exploring your sustainable, long-term role in the progressive movement—we strongly encourage you to consider this program. Please contact Calvin Williams with any questions.

To learn more about the impact of the Capacity Building program, check out this interview with 2007 fellow Chris Brown.

[ Visit the application page ]

YP4 fellows named Truman Scholarship finalists

2007 fellows Lauren Finzer (Stanford University) and Richmond Blake (Davidson College) and 2008 fellows Billy Blaustein (Colorado College) and Caroline Johnson (American University) have been named Truman Scholarship finalists. Congratulations!

Dustin Cox is a 2007 fellow from the University of Arizona, where he will graduate in May. Dustin has worked closely with YP4, participating in the Front Line Leaders Academy and taking advantage of our internship program.

Dustin writes, “As a YP4 fellow, my blueprint was to put together a week-long, program intensive, collegiate level social justice and leadership conference called A-TOWN. We addressed issues ranging from racism, sexism, and homophobia to evaluating societal institutions that perpetuate discrimination and inequality. YP4 was absolutely integral in the funding, planning, and implementation of the conference, and even made it possible to have YP4 fellows from across the country attend A-TOWN in Arizona. The support and inspiration that YP4 gave me was invaluable, and A-TOWN would not have happened without the YP4 family! The conference was a tremendous success for the more than 70 participants, and the program is now being institutionalized at two major Arizona universities — the University of Arizona and Arizona State University.”

Dustin plans to work with local nonprofits and pursue a career in politics in the near future.

Senior fellow update: Alex Hill goes to South Africa

2007 fellow Alex Hill will be heading to South Africa from May through early August. He writes, “I’ll be working at the Vumundzuku Bya-Vana (VVOCF) HIV/AIDS orphan care center in Zonkizizwe, which is an isolated black township about 50km from Johannesburg. My main role as a intern will be to assist in the establishment of the new nonprofit to run the center, developing and training the center’s staff, including English instruction, and running after school curriculum for the children served by VVOCF.” As time allows, Alex hopes to travel around the country and visit Lesotho and his friend who is doing Peace Corps in Mozambique.

[ Watch a video about Alex’s YP4 Blueprint ]

Support the Equality Ride! NY State Networking Event

See Ari Gold, Planet Out’s Emerging New Artist of 2007, live in concert on April 16! SoulForce Q, Young People For, Gay.com and other partners will all be part of this recruitment event for the Equality Ride. The concert begins at 8pm at Touch Nightclub: 240 W 52nd St, New York, NY.

Tickets can be purchased at the door or at www.soulforce.org/concert. Fellows interested in attending should contact Andrew Meade for free tickets.

YP4 at Take Back America

YP4 staff and internship program participants will convene at the Take Back America conference in Washington, D.C., in mid-March. YP4 Executive Director Iara Peng will introduce Norman Lear for Take Back America’s keynote address this year. Additionally, People For the American Way Foundation’s new president, Kathryn Kolbert, will appear on the panel “The Courts: Your Constitutional Rights in Jeopardy.”

This year’s youth panel, “Millennials Rising: Young Voters Revitalizing Democracy,” will feature Carmen Berkley (United States Student Association), Anthony Daniels (NEA Student Program), Anton Gunn (South Carolina Fair Share) and Heather Smith (Rock the Vote).

[ Watch the YouTube video ]

This month, the American Prospect highlights 2006 fellow Kevin Killer and the YP4 fellowship, hometown papers tout their YP4 fellows, and Young Elected Officials Network director Andrew Gillum is the featured keynote speaker at Florida A&M University’s Black History Month Convocation.

[ Read the news coverage ]

The Roosevelt Institution’s 2008 Essay Contest: Win $500 and get published
It’s no surprise that the college campus is an environment where students are challenged with new ideas and points of view on a daily basis, and that these educational encounters foster intellectual growth and self-reflection. There are those, however, who see these engagements as a dangerous form of indoctrination rather than as an educational opportunity. They’ve been successful in finding a platform to have their views heard. This is your chance to tell the real story of what goes on in the classroom and how it has affected your life.

For this contest, the Free Exchange on Campus coalition asks you to write a 1,000-word essay, or produce a three-minute video, telling about an experience when an on-campus activity particularly engaged you. The contest runs until March 14.

[ Learn more about the Student Voices Contest ]

Equality Ride
There are well over 200 schools in the United States where lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students are not welcome, enforced by policy or culture. You can be directly involved in transforming these discriminatory attitudes.

Since 2005, the Equality Ride has become a national forum for discourse about faith, sexuality, and gender. This fall, 25 young adults will visit schools in the South and create urgency for these conversations via their diverse, intelligent and youthful perspectives on equality. An Equality Rider is a young adult, age 18 to 28, who recognizes that we must work with religious attitudes if we are to reach reconciliation. A Rider may live anywhere, come from any ethnic background, and may or may not identify as a person of faith. We welcome applicants with varying physical or sensory abilities and those who are gender non-conforming or unaffiliated with an academic institution. If you bring a willingness to learn, to engage, and to create, apply to be an Equality Rider at www.equalityride.com.

Campus Camp Wellstone
Campus Camp Wellstone, a nonpartisan 1.5-day training program, covers the nuts and bolts of grassroots organizing, voter engagement, political advocacy and leadership development.

[ Learn more about Campus Camp Wellstone ]
[ See a schedule of trainings ]

Call for papers: Africa and health care
2007 fellow Alex Hill’s organization S.C.O.U.T. B.A.N.A.N.A., in conjunction with Michigan State University's African Studies Center and Office of International Development, invites you to submit a manuscript to Articulate: Undergraduate Scholarship Applied to International Development. The deadline for submissions is March 7.

[ Read the full call for papers on the YP4 Blog ]

Cornell special summer school session about labor
Cornell University will host a special summer school session from June 8–13 for undergraduate and graduate students interested in working in the labor movement. The session is co-sponsored by the AFL-CIO Center for Strategic Research. Applications are being considered on a rolling basis; the final deadline is May 9.

[ Learn more ]

William Randolph Hearst Endowed Fellowship for Minority Students
The Nonprofit Sector Research Fund, a grantmaking program of the Aspen Institute, offers the William Randolph Hearst Endowed Fellowship three times a year. The fellowship, which is based on academic excellence and need, is open to both undergraduate and graduate students who are members of minority groups. Through this program, the fund seeks to introduce a diverse group of students to issues relating to philanthropy, volunteerism, and nonprofit organizations. A fellowship grant of between $2,500 and $5,000 will be awarded, depending on the recipient's educational level, financial need, and time commitment. Deadline: March 15 (summer internship); July 15 (fall internship).

[ Learn more and apply ]