April 1, the deadline for the first round of Blueprints for Social Justice, brought a cascade of proposals spanning a broad range of issues and approaches to social change.

From civic engagement to environmental justice to LGBTQ rights to immigrant justice and access to higher education, fellows are assessing their communities’ needs and putting their ideas into action in intentional, sustainable and community-driven ways. The deadline for summer Blueprint proposals is July 1.

[ Learn more about the YP4 fellowship ]

When Kari Fulton became a YP4 fellow in 2007, she had no idea that her experience at the YP4 National Summit would launch a professional career as an environmental organizer. During the 2007 Summit, Kari sat across from Billy Parrish, a founder of the Energy Action Coalition, who connected her with the Environmental Justice and Climate Change Initiative (EJCC). After working with Kari on a project while she was a student, EJCC offered Kari a job as a Campus Climate Challenge Coordinator. In her position, Kari works on mobilizing students of color to take a stance against environmental racism. Kari is now interested in applying for the Leadership Academy, YP4’s program designed to sustain and support the newest generation of young professionals. Congratulations, Kari, on making the most of the YP4 network.

Julia Rhee: After completing her first placement at the Movement Strategies Center, Julia has begun working at Youth Together, a community-based organization that addresses the root causes of educational inequities by developing multiracial youth organizers and engaging school community allies. In this video, Julia discusses her work experience at the Movement Strategies Center and YP4’s impact on her professional development and the movement.

[ Watch the video ]

You don’t have to sell out after college!
YP4’s Leadership Academy supports emerging professionals working for change through the progressive movement. The program provides young professionals with three all-expense-paid leadership development retreats filled with the expert tools, trainings, and support critical to success as the newest generation of progressive leaders.

Still looking for a job? As part of the Leadership Academy, YP4 will provide five young leaders with paid fellowships to work at small and medium-sized progressive organizations across the country. Applicants selected for paid fellowships will receive $30,000 annualized over the course of 10 months (August through June). Applications are due May 16.

[ Learn more and apply! ]

Hot off the virtual presses! Matt Stoller at OpenLeft gives major love to YP4 and the Young Elected Officials Network in his April 9 post Good Progressive Movement Happenings.

From the month of March: coverage of YP4 in Cosmopolity, Talking Points Memo Café, Future Majority and Open Left, plus Leadership Academy fellows emerge as opinion leaders.

[ Read the news coverage ]

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, in which 25 young adults visit schools in the South and create urgency for conversations about faith, sexuality and gender.

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 and a pizza party (no joke).

[ See more upcoming events ]

Fellow-coordinated training program! Summer of Solutions
Jason Rodney, a 2008 fellow from Cleveland (at school in Minnesota), writes, “My friends and I in the Twin Cities have been working on building solutions to climate change and realized that the summer presents an amazing opportunity for collaboration. We know there are amazing ideas taking form all over the country, so we're inviting you to join us June 1 to August 1 — you can take a week of vacation in the middle if necessary — for The Summer of Solutions, a student-run experiential training and community organizing program.

“I’m psyched, because this will allow me to devote myself fully to the many things I want to bring together, from environmental justice to youth organizing around hip-hop to interfaith dialogue and more. Whether or not climate change is a priority in your activism, this is an opportunity for collaboration and innovation.”

[ Learn more and register ]

National conferences: Take Back America
YP4 sent a delegation of 40 young leaders to the Take Back America Conference in Washington, D.C. last month. The delegation consisted of YP4 staff and the 2008 Class of Internship Program participants. Conference participants attended sessions highlighting important opportunities in the movement with speakers from national organizations across the country including PFAW and PFAWF’s new president Katherine Kolbert, founder Norman Lear and YP4’s director, Iara Peng. YP4 also co-sponsored a reception with numerous other youth progressive organizations honoring the contributions and visibility of young progressive leaders. Participants in the internship program were trained on the skills essential for young leaders looking to gain professional experience as interns and introduced to the components of their program. Read our conference coverage on the YP4 blog!

A Better Deal Conference (May 8–9, Washington, D.C.)
It’s getting harder for young adults to get ahead in America. Compared to previous generations, today’s 20-somethings earn less, carry more debt and pay more for everything from health care to housing. With young people voting in record numbers, it’s time to put this generation's economic crisis on the national agenda and build a movement for a better deal.

Demos has organized a conference that’s not just about ideas — it’s about action. Hundreds of young activists will get the tools to connect politics to the personal financial struggles of young voters, and get hooked up with others to build a movement for a better deal in their communities. The conference is FREE and limited travel scholarships are available.

[ Register today ]

On Day One video contest
What would you ask the next President to do on day one of their administration? Enter the On Day One video contest and tell us.

The winners get an all-expenses-paid trip to the UN Headquarters in New York City for the Youth Leadership Summit in July, where you will have the opportunity to be a guest blogger for On Day One! The only requirements are that you are under age 24 and have an opinion.

[ Learn more and submit a video ]

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 ]