It’s that time of year again! Civic Youth Leadership Academy is a program designed to educate, engage, and empower young people to take active roles in your communities and speak up on issues that matter to you. 
 
Designed for youth and young adults aged 14-24, the program runs for 6 sessions at Downtown LA’s City Hall on Monday mornings from 9:30 am-12 noon. The dates are: June 18th & 25thJuly 16th, 23rd, and 30th, and August 6th
 

Apply at https://empowerla.org/civicyouth/cyla/ by May 31st and email civicyouth@empowerla.org with any questions.

 

Read on below to hear about to hear from one of our Civic Youth Alumni on what she learned from our program, and what she is up to now!

Lily Larsen – Youth Rep for Mid City NC

Photo by: Dusti Cunningham for Congress of Neighborhoods

 

There is no age too young to get involved in your community.  I was told, “if you want Self Esteem, do Esteemable Acts.”  That is exactly what happened to me at Civic Youth, and by joining the Board of my Neighborhood Council –   I learned the value of doing esteemable acts; I learned to be proactive in my community and take initiative when there is none being taken. It has taught me to be more responsible and to be a strong leader. At Civic Youth, I got hands-on experience organizing community events,  such as clean-ups around the city. I realized that I had strength as a group organizer and leadership skills. Here is where I saw my ideas and others’ being taken seriously and put into action. That feels amazing. “Making a difference” is no longer is a theory to me. Since Civic Youth I have created a platform for teens to organize in their community by sharing the skills I learned at Civic Youth with others. I’ve been attending Neighborhood Council meetings since age 9. When I got older and found out only 1/3rd of NCs have youth rep positions, I felt determined to ensure that each Neighborhood Council has a youth rep position. This can happen by forming small committees of teens in each LA  area to advocate and encourage local high school students to join their local council! Civic Youth helped me find my passion and what I want to do in life, which is help people through Arts Activism, civic engagement and to be of service to the City and community!
– By Lily Larsen
(Please see how inspired I am and how I share my passion by visiting www.adolescentactivist.com)