Changeist

Changeist is a little league for civic action; a place for young people to transform into social changemakers. We mobilize young people (ages 11-26) from all different walks of life, place them on diverse teams and take them through a 6-month civic action experience, exploring the issues they care most about. Youth learn sociopolitical problem-solving skills, engage in dialogue, and build community as they investigate local and global challenges. Our mission is to build a community of diverse young people that utilize their personal agency to create a more just society. We do this by fostering young people’s sociopolitical empowerment and growing their social capital, so that they may have the tools they need to make the world a better place. Over the course of 22 Saturdays, all youth complete a minimum of 100 hours and team-based social justice projects, all while reinforcing character strengths and a growth mindset. Youth work on issues through interactive learning, active service, and individual and team reflection. During the final two months of the program, teams demonstrate their learning through the completion of team-led service projects and externships. Changeist is a community of Impact. After a year of participation, youth report: 1. Increased competence in civic leadership skills, experience taking direct action for social change in their communities, and increased intentions for future engagement 2. Increased awareness of local and national civic issues 3. Identifying more strongly as agents of social change 4. Increased orientation toward novel and challenging events and ideas 5. Higher levels of social capital 6. More favorable attitudes toward diversity