Aligning and Leveraging Leadership in Youth

Aligning and Leveraging Leadership in Youth (ALLY) is a school year based program that engages the graduates of Anytown in continuing their education around issues of privilege and oppression as well as fostering an environment where youth can build and facilitate their own workshops.

Held monthly, youth gather to learn facilitation skills, find ways to develop and utilize their leadership, and discuss topics of social justice. Many of the topics are designed and led by the youth participants, providing opportunities for participants to practice program development and facilitation. Students have the opportunity to develop workshops and facilitate them at their schools.

As a final capstone to ALLY, every participant presents a project exploring inclusion in the St. Louis area. Some projects explore areas their community needs to work on, others on solutions that have been working to create welcoming spaces for people of all backgrounds. The final projects are displayed in a community showcase as a way to share the voices of ALLY participants with the larger community. 

ALLY is bringing out the best in the youth it serves, assisting them in reaching their full potential as student leaders dedicated to social justice and safe school environments.

If you're interested in getting involved with the ALLY program, please contact Connor Schlereth by email at Christina@nccjstl.org or phone at 314-432-2525.