Partnerships
Our partners help us accomplish our goals.
Strong relationships with community partners are integral to YLI’s success.
We partner in a variety of ways to ensure quality delivery of our youth leadership program, to support youth development professionals to do their best work, and to sustain our work into the future.
Program Partnerships
To support YLI’s programming, we recruit volunteers, interns and AmeriCorps members.
We make efforts at targeted recruitment in cultural communities for volunteers to serve as cultural coaches.
We have partnered with local schools, after-school clubs and cultural organizations to ensure diversity of recruitment and enrollment.
Our Current Long-Term Program Partnerships:
Boys and Girls Club - Camp Voyageur
Our overnight retreats in October and May take place at Camp Voyageur in Mound, MN, which is owned and operated by the Boys and Girls Club of the Twin Cities!
Voyageur’s camp grounds feature a main lodge with various meeting spaces and a cafeteria, several cabins with electricity, running water, and heating, and lots of lush wilderness.
YMCA Camp Widjiwagan
Camp Widjiwagan provides a wilderness trip in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area each summer to the new YLI Youth Mentor team.
This extended experience away from home has impacted the leadership experience of Youth Mentors by deepening their relationships, preparing them to be leaders during the YLI year, and building their teamwork skills.
Youth Mentors return home with a greater sense of confidence navigating uncertain situations and getting out of their comfort zones, stronger bonds with each other, deeper understanding of how to support each other and readiness to lead.
Hmong Odyssey,
Underground Railroad,
Mexican Border Crossing,
and 1862 Dakota Uprising
Cultural Simulation Facilitators
Each year during YLI’s immersive retreats, participants have the opportunity to engage in a simulated experience to see the world through another cultural or historical lens; this can result in a greater self-awareness of personal privilege or pride, and appreciation of the lived experience and resilience of different communities.
These experiences have truly been instrumental in supporting YLI’s mission and efforts by strengthening empathy through storytelling, acknowledging oppressive histories and systems, deepening connection to our common humanity, and fostering racial healing. YLI is proud to intentionally invest in BIPOC-led businesses and prioritize the narratives of BIPOC communities.
Additional Program Partners:
Frogtown
Community Center
