Each year, the Afterschool Alliance recruits a cohort of youth from across the country to serve as Youth Ambassadors. The cohort is trained as afterschool advocates—learning how to effectively communicate about their afterschool experiences with elected officials, media, and others in leadership positions, and how to use their afterschool stories to advocate for change. For example, we have provided previous cohorts with training on how to write letters to their congressional representatives, op-eds to be placed in local newspapers, and blog posts to be published on the Afterschool Alliance’s Afterschool Snack. As part of their ambassadorship, we bring each cohort to Washington, D.C. on an expenses-paid trip to participate in the Afterschool for All Challenge, where they meet with their congressional representatives and offer remarks at the Afterschool for All Showcase on Capitol Hill (provided that travel is allowable and safe, of course)!

Youth Ambassadors, both during and after their term of service with the Afterschool Alliance, also have additional opportunities to share their voice on our national platform. For example, we have had Youth Ambassadors serve as speakers on Afterschool Alliance virtual events, U.S. Department of Education webinars, and national town halls. We have also featured Youth Ambassadors on promotional materials and connected them with advocacy opportunities at their state or local levels, particularly connecting them with their State Afterschool Networks. Each Youth Ambassador receives a stipend for their participation in the program, which spans the course of 8 to 10 months.

Torani is a generous supporter of the Youth Ambassador program, and we are grateful to The Rhode Island Foundation for supporting Jully M from Young Voices RI and Nickelodeon for supporting Aurie-Anne V from After-School All-Stars South Florida.

Whether providing leadership opportunities, fostering the development of critical social and emotional competencies, or creating space where youth feel they are being heard and validated, out-of-school-time programs are helping to develop the leaders of tomorrow by turning the mic over to them today! Here are great youth voice resources to expand youth voice efforts in afterschool programs: Use this Youth Voice Toolkit to integrate more youth voice in your work!