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Hello John!
As 2025 comes to a close, we’re reflecting on the young people across the country who kept showing up for their communities, even when the moment felt heavy or uncertain.
While others disengaged, youth organizers stayed rooted. They took action on the issues that matter most to them: education, housing, immigration, public safety, and the future of our democracy. Once again, they showed that when young people are trusted, supported, and given room to lead, they deliver real change.
Here are just a few highlights from the year:
Organizing That Made a Difference
Across our Network, young organizers translated discipline, rigor, and deep community relationships into scale, showing us what disciplined, coalition-driven organizing looks like.
* The Ohio Student Association led a bold, statewide Save Higher Education campaign, mobilizing students, professors, and administrators across Ohio to defend academic freedom, affordability, and students' rights amid escalating political attacks on public universities. On their National Day of Action alone, they mobilized more than 350 students across 11 campuses to defend academic freedom and successfully pressured Kent State’s president to reject Trump’s harmful “campus compact.”
* In response to escalating state-sanctioned attacks on immigrant communities, North Carolina Asian Americans Together and Chicago Votes met ICE intimidation with rapid-response Know Your Rights trainings and accessible online resources, equipping and mobilizing thousands to protect themselves and each other.
* This year, we also expanded our New Deal for Organizing (NDO) program, an intensive training initiative in partnership with State Voices and Midwest Academy, designed to grow and sustain a national youth organizing movement.
Real Wins on the Issues
Youth-led campaigns have delivered meaningful policy wins, showing that democracy is at its best when it works for everyone, allowing people to see and feel the results.
* In Illinois, Chicago Votes advanced the RACE Act, rallying its community to expand civic education in prisons and restore voting rights for incarcerated individuals.
* During their legislative session, New Hampshire Youth Movement , in partnership with 603 Forward, helped pass three major zoning and housing reforms that unlock more affordable housing near jobs and transit.
* In November, Engage Miami helped pass a Charter Amendment establishing an independent Citizens’ Redistricting Committee, shifting the power away from politicians and into the hands of constituents by banning the design of maps to protect incumbents. They also collected 15,000 of the roughly 21,500 signatures needed to place their Stronger Miami reform on the ballot, building momentum to ensure these victories are fully realized.
Changing the Story About What’s Possible
In a moment of widespread disillusionment and misinformation, we invested in research and storytelling that speaks directly to what young people care about most. This year, we:
* Launched new youth engagement research to provide actionable guidance for our Network and grantees, rooted in narratives that resonate with young people so that they can continue motivating civic participation.
* Moved $1.5M through Generation Hope to support youth organizing, including national narrative efforts aimed at defending democracy and advancing a future rooted in justice, care, and collective power.
Looking Ahead to 2026
We enter this next chapter grounded in what worked in 2025. These wins weren’t by chance, and they didn’t happen overnight. They are the result of sustained organizing, long-term investment, and young leaders who never let up.
In the year ahead, youth organizers will continue to build community, fight authoritarianism, win concrete improvements in people’s lives, and offer a hopeful vision of the future. And we will be right there with them—investing in young people and ensuring they have the infrastructure and leadership pathways they need and deserve to lead.
Thank you for being part of a movement that believes in young people and the future they’re building together.
Selasi Tagbor Morales
Communications Manager
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Alliance for Youth Action
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Ste 600
Washington, DC 20001
United States
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