Youth Changemaker Clubs

I'm ready to start a club!

Youth Changemaker Clubs (YCCs) are dynamic, youth-led clubs preparing young people to make positive change where they live and learn.

YCCs offer community for both kids and adults who care deeply about animals, our fellow humans, and the planet.

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FAQs

  • Making change changes kids!

    Youth Changemaker Clubs (YCCs) offer young people a chance to connect with real-world issues affecting people, animals, or the environment and take action to make a meaningful impact.  

    Some groups choose to tackle local issues like food insecurity and work on projects like food rescue, gardens, or other forms of mutual aid, and other groups address global issues and use informational, educational, or other kinds of campaigns. The sky is the limit for their creativity. 

    • One YCC is currently working to help stop deforestation by spreading awareness about palm oil through a play, educational efforts, and a letter-writing campaign. 

    • Another YCC is working to get two captive whales to sanctuary so they are no longer used for entertainment. 

  • YCCs are led by parents, teachers, or other volunteers and hosted by schools, nonprofit organizations, clubs, shelters, sanctuaries, or a number of other sites.

    Clubs work together to choose an issue, learn about it, and propose a project that is eligible for funding of up to $250. Clubs are very flexible in terms of time commitment and project scope. 

    • HEART works with Club leads and provides the resources they need in a handbook that guides them every step of the way, including how to apply for micro-grants of up to $250. 

    • We leverage a youth-led, adult-supported model that allows participants to have real voice in their project.

    • Club leads are also eligible for consultations and coaching from HEART staff who will help them as needed.

  • Young people get real-life practice with leadership, teamwork, problem-solving, and hands-on experience with advocacy in a supportive environment, giving them greater agency and building a strong foundation for the positive changemaking skills and practices that our world so urgently needs.

    • They learn how to analyze issues, incorporate other perspectives on the issues, and understand the root cause so that their impact is all the more powerful! 

    • YCCs provide opportunities for youth to engage with their communities and strengthen peer bonds by learning how to work together and create healthy group dynamics.

    • Both kids and adults get to make a meaningful impact and have a great time doing it!

  • Yes! In our 2024-2025 pilot year, we surveyed several YCC programs using Hello Insight, a platform that measures social-emotional learning (SEL) capacities through youth-driven pre- and post-assessments. Of the YCCs surveyed, 100% of participants reported program satisfaction. Additionally, 92% of young people demonstrated gains in at least one SEL capacity (core capacities include academic self-efficacy, mastery orientation, self-management, and social skills). What’s more, YCC participants developed these skills at a rate higher than 75% of all comparable youth programs!

  • If you are interested in learning more about the YCC program, the first step in starting or hosting a club is to fill out the form below or to reach out to kristina@living-kind.org and we will be in touch with everything you need to get started! Download the flyer for additional details.

Join the movement. Fill out the form below to begin the process of starting a YCC in your community.

Youth Changemaker Clubs in Action

  • Group of children and two adults posing in front of butterfly decorations in a school or community center.

  • Students presenting a poster titled 'The Whale Sanctuary Project' in front of an audience in a classroom.

  • A child is writing and coloring on a large sheet of paper at a wooden table, surrounded by colorful markers and pens. The paper has a handwritten list and colorful titles.

  • A group of children and adults in a library classroom, smiling for the camera. Two adults stand at each side, one with a video camera, while the children are in front, sitting and kneeling on a colorful rug with bookshelves and posters in the background.

  • A handwritten tree diagram with positive behavior traits and cooperation themes at the YCC organization, and various names written in different colors around the trunk.

  • Colorful underwater-themed art display with a pink sign reading, 'With small hands and big hearts, we turned trash into treasure showing that art can change the world one recycled piece at a time and save the sea!'

  • Child writing a message on a white sheet of paper with a black marker, saying 'Save Our Schools', on a wooden table.

Student Responses to YCC Program

  • "No animal too big, no human too small, we can change the world, we can change it all!"

    — YCC Member

  • "Imagine if you do this every year and teachers come to see it, then they do a YCC in their school, and soon it’s in every school around the world!"

    — YCC Member

  • "I really want to do this. Finally, something that speaks to me."

    — YCC Member

  • "I love this club because our lead really listens to us and we are learning so many ways to make the world better."

    — YCC Member

Help us expand our Youth Changemaker Clubs throughout the United States. Please give today.

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