Graduate Student Takes Action to Engage Youth in Active Social Change

Imagine a world in which young people feel empowered to become leaders in local and global social change. ASU graduate student Courtney Klein always believed in this notion, and when she was only 18 years old, she came up with an idea to create a nonprofit organization that connected youth to pressing social problems and inspired them to take action.

In January 2005, Klein teamed up with other ASU students to establish Youth Re:Action Corps, an organization built on the concept that the world lies in the hands of the young people who will inherit it. The team submitted a business proposal to the Edson Student Entrepreneur Initiative at ASU and received startup financial support, office space and the mentorship of Dr. Lattie Coor, President Emeritus of ASU. A year later, Youth Re:Action Corps launched its pilot program in the largest school district in Arizona.

As part of the program, a Corps Team of 15-25 students from diverse backgrounds venture outside their schools to survey the social problems within their community. After interviewing community members, they choose an issue to address as their Corps project and then they present their social change plans at a winter conference and Youth Re:Action Corps invests up to $1000 in their project ideas. In the spring semester, the teams lead the implementation of their projects and publicize their work to garner additional community support.

"Our mission is to educate young people about local, national and international issues, empower them to create plans for social change, and invest financially in their visions of a better world," says Klein, who now serves as executive director of the organization.

In September, the program that Klein founded less than two years ago received a boost from the Pat Tillman Foundation, when the two service organizations developed a partnership to carry forward Tillman's legacy by inspiring young people to create positive change.

Over the next three years, Youth Re:Action Corps will receive significant funding for expansion in San Jose, Calif. The program was initiated in six high schools in San Jose in late September and will be implemented in six more high schools in Arizona on Oct. 20.

The partnership marks the second major leadership initiative endorsed by the Pat Tillman Foundation, following the development of the Foundation's flagship program at ASU, "Leadership Through Action."

"The partnership with the Pat Tillman Foundation enables us to develop new methods to engage youth in effective social change," says Klein. "The support will allow us to encourage more students to find ways to help others in their communities. We hope to create a movement of young people working to create sustainable change in their world."


Upper photo: Public Programs graduate student Courtney Klein teamed up with other ASU students to establish Youth Re:Action Corps, an organization dedicated to empowering young people to create plans for social change and to invest financially in their visions of a better world.

Lower photo: Klein, executive director of Youth Re:Action Corps, received a boost for the program from the Pat Tillman Foundation, when the two service organizations developed a partnership last September.