The Generator Blog

Your spot for resources, opinions, and tools that advance the leadership of youth to become civically engaged and informed global citizens.

By Amy Meuers, NYLC CEO Service-learning is a transformative educational approach, engaging students worldwide in solving real-world problems through academic learning connected to community action. What began as a primarily […]

By Bella Sullivan, Marketing and Events Coordinator Julia Vickery, the Program Director and Students in Philanthropy Foundation Coordinator of the Abell-Hanger Foundation in Midland, Texas, achieved a significant milestone in […]

By Amy Meuers, NYLC CEO As we look ahead after the 2024 presidential election, the National Youth Leadership Council is more determined than ever to empower young people in leading […]

By Amy Meuers, NYLC CEO Elections often stir strong emotions, intense debate, and heightened stress, making young people who may be new to engaging in civic matters especially susceptible to […]

By Caryn Scheel, 2024 Youth as Solutions Adult Mentor As we enter the last weeks of the 2024 election campaigns, teens across the United States are preparing for an election […]

By Grace C. Liu, NYLC Youth Advisory Council Mentor “La la la! Weee wooo weee.” My voice echoed in the quiet room as I completed my vocal warm-up, a ritual […]

By Amy Meuers, NYLC CEO Youth leadership is a driving force behind some of the most significant social, environmental, and political movements of our time. As the challenges facing our […]

By Katy Dolan, NYLC Board Chair Let’s face it: society isn’t designed to give young people a lot of agency. Yes, we’ve mostly moved past the days of “children should […]

By Amy Meuers, NYLC CEO Recent studies show a concerning trend: only one in four Americans aged 18 to 39 consistently support democracy. With 75% of this demographic remaining inconsistent […]

This is a reprint of an article that originally appeared in 2005’s Growing to Greatness, an annual report on the state of service-learning from NYLC. The article was originally written […]

By Nadia Kruzel, AmeriCorps Vista In May 2020, the world watched in horror as George Floyd was murdered by four Minneapolis Police Officers. That summer, we saw how those in […]

By Miranda Taylor, Marketing Manager In the heart of New York’s St. Lawrence County, a group of young changemakers embarked on a mission to tackle a pressing issue in their […]

By Nadia Kruzel, AmeriCorps Vista As the Youth as Solutions 2023-2024 program comes to a close, we want to take a moment to honor and celebrate all of the amazing […]

By Heidi Reimer, Collége Garden City Collegiate, Winnipeg, Manitoba In April, I attended the National Youth Leadership Council 35th Annual National Service-Learning Conference in St. Paul, Minnesota. This conference was […]

By Julie Rogers Bascom, Director of Learning and Leadership Amplifying youth voice is crucial for building strong, inclusive communities and organizations. Starting a Youth Advisory Council (YAC) provides a powerful […]

By Grace Chenxin Liu, YAC Member “From passion to action,” we generated growth and impact at the 2024 National Service-Learning Conference! The conference stands as the largest and most comprehensive […]

By Amy Meuers, NYLC CEO   Service-learning and experiential learning are two powerful educational approaches that create dynamic and transformative learning experiences for students. Both approaches share common principles and […]