Tag: Youth Development Professionals

Bridge values in practice—leadership and nourishing

By Makayla Wright

Makayla Wright, Youth Voice Organizing Manager with Soar, brings us their insights from deep work in youth leadership and youth development around how to integrate and practice values of leadership and nourishing in our work with youth. These are two of the core values guiding how we build and shape the Bridge Conference experience this year. Take a few moments to read the blog post below and listen as Makayla shares with us what these values look like in how we show up for young people and ourselves.   It has been five months since many of us started to quarantine in Washington. I’ve watched my work shift … [ ]

The seeds we sow and centering equity

By Janell Jordan

The 2020 Bridge Team decided on seven core values that help ground and inform how we intentionally move the work forward this year. We use these in our decision-making processes, to help inspire us, and push us towards bringing you a stronger conference each year. Our core values this year are:  Equity Belonging Leadership Change Nourishing Innovation Community  We are continuously trying to check ourselves as a team in not only what these values look like, but what they feel like as well. We don’t aspire to perform, but rather break ceilings. Centering equity is both a broad and specific … [ ]

Reflections on Bridge’s core values—innovation

By Janell Jordan

“For me, forgiveness and compassion are always linked: how do we hold people accountable for wrongdoing and yet at the same time remain in touch with their humanity enough to believe in their capacity to be transformed?”  ~ bell hooks    I started working on this year’s Bridge theme at end of February–when I thought I would be back in the office in two weeks max (almost laughable at this point); back when Breonna Taylor and George Floyd still had their breath — when so many folks laid content and complicit with their everyday life.   Having been a participant, a facilitator, and a support staff in previous years,  working in … [ ]

Best Starts OST organization tell their stories far and wide

“What’s a constituent?” the boy asks quizzically, after sounding out the word with a staff member sitting at the table with him. “A constituent,” Amir Noir Soulkin enunciates, “is someone who can vote for a legislator because of where they live. You could say you live in Seattle.” The boy nods and returns to the worksheet in front of him, which lays out how to effectively tell a story to elected officials. The kids and staff from East African Community Services, all wearing custom t-shirts that say, “Advocacy Day 2020!” in bold blue letters, are dutifully crafting their talking points in preparation for … [ ]

Program Spotlight—Accelerator YMCA in Kent

By Leah Bui

The Accelerator YMCA program provides holistic support to young people and their families who have experienced trauma, helping them feel safe, successful, and happy. The Accelerator YMCA program takes place in three King County Housing Authority (KCHA) properties in Kent that include Valli Kee, Cascade Homes, and Birch Creek. The partnership between KCHA and YMCA began back in 2016 and serves 7th- 12th graders. Together, they offer a range of programs from fitness club, book club, leadership groups, and art and cooking activities after school. Accelerator YMCA Kent team members, Rabecca Stewart and Jay Faggins participate in the Housing & … [ ]