Editor’s Note: Nicki Sanders, MSW, Chief Visionary Officer of The Teen Toolbox is a mother, youth advocate, and life skills strategist that has been employed in the human services field for over a decade. The Teen Toolbox promotes youth portfolio development, civic engagement, and academic enrichment to help youth set goals for life after high school and create a road map to reach those goals. The signature service offered by The Teen Toolbox is its"Packaged For Success" youth portfolio program.
Ms. Sanders learned of YSA while completing her master's program in social work. In her work with youth and commitment to volunteerism, she has found YSA to be an invaluable resource to help raise awareness about the benefits and opportunities for youth to make a positive impact on their communities and our world.
In our work world, evidence-based practice and evidence-based research is king. Objectives, outcomes, and goals are commonplace. In my supervisory role, I stress that we have to have proof that what we are doing really works. Recently, I was thinking about Dr. Martin Luther King Day marking the kickoff YSA’s Semester of Service and decided to go a bit further and hit the Internet to find documentation that supports what I have seen in my experience and know in my heart is an effective aspect of youth development.
I searched many websites using variations of the phrase “youth in foster care volunteer.” I came across a 2007 press release for a survey conducted by the Corporation for National and Community Service titled, “Disadvantaged Teens Benefit from Volunteering, But Do it Less than Better-Off Peers.” There were key points from the study that proved useful information, such as ‘service can have a powerful impact on a young person’s life.” But what I found most interesting and not surprising at all is that all the other articles and searches resulted in requests for the community to volunteer to help “youth in foster care”, “foster Youth”, “youth aging out of foster care”, “youth in impoverished communities” and the list went on and on. The youth that I am working with were constantly being referred to as recipients of services rather than service providers. As I searched I kept thinking to myself, Ms. Nicki you have a lot of work to do.
I teach my youth that they do not have to be victims of their environment and that their current circumstances do not exclude them from greatness. Our youth have so much to offer. Our job is to help them recognize and nurture their strengths, talents, and skills. I use community service opportunities to build connections, explore careers, gain work experience, and instill a sense of accomplishment in the youth we work with. I was delighted to find that the press release from Corporation for National and Community Service quoted CEO David Eisner, “We need to do two things: reach more disadvantaged youth through service, and help more providers of youth services to engage young people as assets rather than simply treating them as clients.” Although I’m not a fan of the term “disadvantaged youth” (I do like that term hundred times more than the term “at risk youth”), it was as if Mr. Eisner was reading my mind and I want to thank him for his statement.
So, if no one else has told you before I want to be the first to say that your youth are youth “at promise.” I wholeheartedly believe that all youth need opportunities to succeed and recognition for a job well done. Working to improve their lives, communities, and the lives of other youth in similar situations can provide an awesome opportunity for you to uncover the passion for making a difference in youth you work with.
