Living Our Values: Participating in the Meaningful Youth Engagement Lab
February 11, 2022
Feb.14, 2022 – As an organization dedicated to supporting young people, we are excited to share that MENTOR, along with seven other nonprofits, has been selected to participate in Restless Development’s Meaningful Youth Engagement (MYE) Lab. By providing a space for our organization to center youth leadership, engage in continued learning, and expand our network of youth-serving organizations, the MYE Lab will allow MENTOR to further our mission of building and strengthening networks of support and opportunity for youth.
What Is The Meaningful Youth Engagement Lab?
The Meaningful Youth Engagement Lab, which is funded in part by Citi Foundation, seeks to educate, train, and support eight nonprofits in developing organizational strategies for effectively centering young people. The Lab offers tailored mentorship and technical assistance, and will be led by a Youth Task Team (YTT), a group of younger staff from participating organizations who will help design and implement assessments, trainings, and action plans.
There Should Be Nothing About Youth Without Youth
For over three decades, MENTOR has intentionally engaged in efforts to elevate youth voice and leadership. We’ve hired young people to speak at in-person events and webinars, facilitate panels and workshops, and join advisory councils and focus groups. In the words of MENTOR’s Chief People and Strategy Officer Tara Spann, “MENTOR’s mission is to close the mentoring gap. How we close the mentoring gap is by providing evidence-based, quality products, tools, and services. This is only possible by engaging our youth, lifting their voices, and integrating them and their experiences in the work that we do.”
There Is Always More To Learn And Room To Grow
MENTOR Program Manager Minnie Chen, who will be a Lab participant, explains, “MENTOR understands that young people are not just recipients of mentoring, but are true experts in their experiences and driven, resourceful leaders in their communities. As a national organization, we are always looking for ways to integrate and uplift mentee and youth experiences, as well as provide opportunities for young people to develop skills as leaders.”
By offering key training around youth engagement practices, the MYE Lab will enable MENTOR to have an even greater reach and increased efficacy. Expanding on the benefits, Minnie shared, “I am looking forward to having a space where I can connect, learn, and problem solve with other nonprofit organizations. I am excited to bring back my learnings to MENTOR and work with my colleagues across the organization to ensure that youth voice and the mentee experience is embedded into all aspects of our work.”
MENTOR’s Program Associate Karina Nova, who will be serving on the MYE Lab’s Youth Task Team, added, “I am looking forward to learning different ways to engage youth leadership during the development stages of MENTOR’s various products, projects that will ultimately affect how local programs engage youth in their communities. I am excited to be mentored alongside other young staff members in the field, and to use the knowledge I gain through training and personalized mentorship to identify ways and present new processes for centering and engaging youth as leaders and experts in the mentoring movement.”
To learn more about the MYE Lab, click here.