We believe that all young people have the capacity to look out for others, stand up for what they believe, think creatively and get things done.
To do this, we provide young people with a pathway of opportunities, where they:
Connect
Young people connect to a range of positive experiences, environments and people.
Participate
Young people shape and participate in opportunities they wouldn’t otherwise be able to access.
Contribute
Young people design and deliver projects which makes positive changes for their communities.
Lead
Young people become the experts through training, work-experience, public speaking and mentorship.
Our Approach
Through an evidenced-based positive youth development approach, Youth Foundation enables young people to identify and develop opportunities through which positive change for both themselves and their community can happen.
Key to this is the provision of regular and varied: positive experiences + positive relationships + positive environments , which we recognise as vital for the development of resilient, healthy and positive adults.
Through Youth Foundation projects, participants build key life skills including:
- Self-Awareness
- Self-Esteem
- Self-Efficacy
- Social Competency
- Co-operation
- Communication
- Empathy
- Positive Values
- Literacy
- Numeracy
- Planning and Organisation
Youth Foundation values and supports young people’s voice, their ideas, their wisdom, their stories, their passions and their creativity, recognising that when we empower young people to share and realise their ideas, change can be made.
“Keep fighting as hard as you can. Your voices are so important. Your stories have truly changed hearts and minds.” – Tommy Murray, 21, who attended Sandy Hook Elementary School during 2012
Photo credit: Rodney Dekker