Attention leaders of volunteers: Don't miss VolunteerMatch Boot Camp!

Unlock the full potential of your VolunteerMatch account with new webinars showcasing our latest releases and most tried-and-true features.
Read More

Youth Creating Change

Cause Area

  • Health & Medicine

Location

3202 Elliot StSan Diego, CA 90004 United States

Organization Information

Mission Statement

Youth Creating Change is a non-profit organization (501 c3) dedicated to placing young people’s voices and creativity at the center of suicide prevention and mental health programming. Our mission is to educate young people about mental health, suicide prevention and other critical health and social justice issues through the creation of art and film projects; to facilitate healing and belonging through creative expression, and to support schools and communities through curriculums, trainings, and awareness activities in creating safe spaces where young people feel seen, heard, and supported in reaching out for help.

Description

Youth Creating Change is a California-based nonprofit (501 c3) dedicated to placing young people's voices and creativity at the center of suicide prevention and mental health programming.

Two of our signature programs - the Directing Change Film Contest and Hope & Justice - rely on volunteer judges to evaluate youth-created submissions centered on suicide prevention, mental health, and social justice topics throughout the year.

All Directing Change and Hope & Justice judging is completed remotely online and allows judges to participate flexibly at the time that works best for them. While the exact time required to evaluate submissions varies throughout the year, most judging periods require a time commitment of approximately 2 hours or less. Most judges are individuals with an interest in mental health, the arts, filmmaking, or education, be we welcome volunteers from a variety of backgrounds. Volunteering as a judge is also educational, providing important reminders regarding available crisis resources, safe suicide prevention messaging, and the destigmatization of mental health.

For the Directing Change Film Contest, judging takes place annually each March. For this contest, judges review and score up to 15 short PSAs. Participation in the program prepares youth to recognize signs of distress and seek help for themselves or a friend while inviting them to share their own unique message about suicide prevention and mental health with their peers. PSAs created for the contest are also used to raise awareness as part of media campaigns and outreach across California.

For Hope & Justice, judging occurs intermittently throughout the school year (typically the second week of each month). For these contests, youth across the state are invited to express their thoughts and feelings around critical mental health topics, as well as social justice and current events through the creation of visual art, written works, short films, audio PSAs, original music, and more. Participants can submit entries to the theme of "Hope," "Justice," or in response to an educational monthly prompt centered on mental health, healthy coping mechanisms, and available support resources.

Reviews

Would you recommend Youth Creating Change?
0 reviews Write a review

Report this organization