AYR: Advancement of Youth Resiliency

Advancement of Youth Resiliency (AYR)encourages grassroots participation in the design, development and measurement of successful programs to improve the social, educational and economic outcomes of children. Youth, organizations, and local business come together to design projects that promote community wellbeing while promoting civic responsibility. Through Service Learning students learn while giving back to their community through projects based on individual interest. Students then qualify to compete for paid internships that enrich the knowledge-base and skill level while gaining real-world experience.  The internship model focuses on Social Entrepreneurship as a means for cultivating civic minded youth while advancing workforce readiness and promoting self-sufficiency.

The project works with schools, nonprofits, faithbased, forprofit, and governmental agencies in order to bring about positive change in surrounding communities through three major evidence-based practices: 1) Experiential Learning; 2) College and/or Career Readiness; and 3) Leadership Development. Schools, organizations, and local business come together to support youth as they design projects that increase community wellbeing and resiliency while promoting civic responsibility.

Service projects, named "Small Things Make a Big Difference (STMBD)" mean just that--it is the small things that you can do that can make a big difference in your community and for your neighbor in need. Designed to be easy to implement but with high visibility and impact, STMBD uses a proven technique called Service Learning. Students learn while giving back to their community via a project based on the students' individual interest and the community's needs. Students serve local agencies and schools. Job shadowing pairs youth with a caring adult around common skills and interest. It provides an opportunity to facilitate mentoring, coaching, goal setting, leadership development, and college and career readiness.