Happy Earth Day!
As we approach Earth Day, the global call to action for environmental conservation grows louder. At the heart of this movement lies a fundamental truth: caring for our planet is not just a responsibility, but a cornerstone of promoting human
Meet our Board President, LeeAnn Meads
I was born in Moscow, Idaho but raised in the East Millcreek area. Attended Skyline High School. Married Garner B. Meads, Jr. in 1978. Graduated from the University of Utah College of Nursing in 1979. Worked at what is now
Megan Mineer Finds Community and Hope Within Youthlinc
In 2022, I was in my sophomore year of high school. I was in a very dark place and feltextremely lonely. I didn’t have many friends and I was struggling to feel like I had apurpose in my life. Around
Sidnee Myer’s Youthlinc Experience
I was introduced to Youthlinc in 2017 when my older brother completed his service year in Guatemala. He returned from Santa Rosa II with a new perspective, a new sense of himself and I knew I had to experience this
Staff Highlight – Jordan Taylor
Jordan has been involved in Youthlinc since 2013. Since then she has been involved in 10 Youthlinc Trips. She started as a humanitarian going to Kenya in 2013 and since then hasn’t been able to walk away from Youthlinc. She
Big Brothers Big Sisters Clothing Drive
Community involvement and collaboration is a major component of Youthlinc programming. Our partners, both local and international help propel our mission to create lifetime humanitarians through a number of hands-on service opportunities for our volunteers. One Utah non-profit supports Youthlinc
Love Service 2024
Service doesn’t always have to be a massive project with months of prep, volunteers, and funds. Often, the greatest acts of service are simple and spontaneous. Here at Youthlinc, we highly emphasize the deep importance of serving locally. Service truly
Music Therapy at Real Life Brings Joy!
Did you know Youthlinc does music therapy at our Real Life program? Thanks to the generosity of a fantastic board member and the professional skills of Ashton Lindsay, ten of Youthlinc’s Real Life sites has music sessions to help students
Larry H & Gail Miller Family Foundation invests in Youthlinc’s Community Center
We would like to thank the Larry H & Gail Miller Family Foundation for their support of Youthlinc’s capital campaign to build our community center! The Foundation has a keen interest in our growing music program at Real Life and
Staff Highlight – Sarah Remund
Sarah has been involved with Youthlinc since 2016 when she was part of the Thailand June team. Little did she know it would spark the fire within her to serve, travel, connect, and tell stories of people and cultures everywhere.
Community – Nathan Anderson
In the Summer of 2020 I found myself sitting alone in my room for much of the day, just like the days and weeks before that. As we all know the world was enduring the pandemic, isolating ourselves for the
Staff Highlight – Hay-Soe
Hay Soe is a Karen refugee originally from Myanmar but grew up in Mae La Refugee Camp, Thailand. Since being resettled, Hay Soe has been a part of Youthlinc’s Real Life program since 2010 at Hser Ner Moo Community Center.
General Orientation Recap
Each year hundreds of Youthlinc participants gather for the kickoff of the new Service Year at General Orientation. This is always one of the biggest events of the year. As staff, team leadership, and Youthlinc Alumni we love when we
Executive Director on Civics Panel with @SharonSaysSo at UVU
In October, Executive Director Justin Powell, was invited to be on a panel at a civics education conference held at Utah Valley University. The panel was moderated by Stan Swim, the Chief Program Officer at Bill of Rights Institute based
Goof on the Greats 2023
As many of you saw from the incredible videos that were shared on our social media, you saw that our Giving Tuesday campaign “Goof on the Greats” was an absolute success. Giving Tuesday is a day dedicated to donating to
Youthlinc World’s Fair 2023
Youthlinc held our Annual Benefit on Saturday, August 26 at the Utah Cultural Celebration Center. The theme this year was “Worlds Fair” and we did things a little differently than in the past. During the beautiful international silent auction, Youthlinc
Real Life Program Expands Mission and Impact: Serving Refugees from Kindergarten to High School
Introduction Real Life was born in 2010 when the United States was facing the Great Recession. At the time, Youthlinc’s main programs focused on the Service Year and the Young Humanitarian Award. Youthlinc leadership was worried about how the Recession
Meet Our 2023 Real Life Scholarship Winners
Real Life Scholarship Winners Sambuka “Sam” Havugimana was born in the small village of Kyanwali, Uganda, to parents who had fled from Congo due to war. Despite many challenges, Sam was determined from an early age to pursue his education.
Meet Our 2023 Young Humanitarian Award Finalists
College Finalists Amy Perez-Chavez is a first-generation Mexican-American college student. She fell in love with service in her senior year of high school when she served as president of HOSA and has continued working with underserved communities since. To Amy,
Youthlinc Clothing Drive
Community involvement and collaboration are major components of Youthlinc programming. Our partners, both local and international, help propel our mission to create lifetime humanitarians through a number of hands-on service opportunities for our volunteers. One Utah non-profit supports Youthlinc programming
LOVE Service Week 2023
Youthlinc is conducting our fourth “Love Service Challenge,” from February 11-17. We want to encourage all Youthlincers, past and present, to spread love through service this February. Participate in our daily challenge and spread your love of service to others
A Wrap of Real Life
This Impact Report gives a general overview of the 2021-22 Real Life Program year. It includes locationsand demographic served, activities, and quantitative data. A final report with all our financial andassessment data will be completed in June of this year.
Real Life’s Financial Literacy Curriculum
Real Life started in 2010 with the objective of teaching “real-life” applicable skills to refugee and immigrant teens throughout the Salt Lake Valley. The main goal of the program was to assist students as they transitioned through the various stages
Real Life’s New Music Therapy Program
By: Melissa Pearson Over the past few years, researchers have found that there has been a major increase in the needs for mental health services within our country and communities. Collectively, we have all faced the fallout and effects of
Love Service 2022
Youthlinc is conducting our third “Love Service Challenge,” from February 12-18. We want to encourage all Youthlincers, past, and present to spread love through service this February. Participate in our daily challenge and spread your love of service to others
Youthlinc’s new Local Service Program: CONNECT, connecting communities through service
What is CONNECT? Utah high school clubs and organizations often engage in service projects to bring their group together in uplifting ways that also supports the community. Any club advisor or student leader knows that is easier said than done.
Service During the Holidays
As the holiday season approaches, many of us cherish the time we get to spend with our loved ones. One of the many beautiful insights we have gained throughout the COVID pandemic is how vital connection is in all of
Pushing for Purpose
By: Patti Monsoor Community centers are crucial for creating a healthy, vibrant community. The social bonds that are created help build strong, safe, and inclusive communities, social interaction, volunteerism, and civic pride. Moreover, they can become a beacon of social
Youthlinc Local Projects 2021
This year, for the first time ever, Youthlinc implemented service experience trips for volunteers to take part in locally. These served as an opportunity not only for humanitarians who were unable to travel internationally this year due to COVID-19, but also for participants to see the many ways they
6 Hacks to Boost Kids Learning Outside of The Classroom
By: Laura Pearson Learning can be a challenge for so many bright students. When you’re a parent of one of these children, all you want to do is help them and make life a little easier. As it turns out,
Youthlinc 2021 Annual Benefit
Here Comes the Sun! Youthlinc has scheduled the Annual Benefit for Saturday, August 28th. We will be holding it in the parking lot where our new Community Center is being built in Murray (346 E 4500 S). We have changed
Summer 2021 Local Experiences
Cost: $50 June 14-19 Refugee Summer Festival This Real Life Refugee Summer Experience allows Youthlinc participants to take part in a week-long local service opportunity in their own backyard and engage with students from all around the world. This experience
The History of Real Life
By: Justin Powell and Melissa Pearson Benjamin Franklin said, “Out of adversity comes opportunity.” This was the case in 2010 when the United States was in the midst of the Great Recession. At that time, Youthlinc was quite a bit
2021 Love Service Challenge
Youthlinc is conducting our second “Love Service Challenge,” from February 8-14. We want to encourage all Youthlincers, past, and present to spread love through service this February. Participate in our daily challenge and spread your love of service to others
Are you Utah’s next Young Humanitarian?
By: Shannon Moss For the past 16 years, Youthlinc has organized a statewide search for Utah’s Young Humanitarian. The goal of this award is to recognize outstanding community engagement and to inspire other people to serve their communities however and
How to be a Humanitarian During the Holidays
For many of us, the holiday season is a time to give back to our communities and volunteer our time, talents, or financial means. With COVID 19 case counts surging throughout the United States, our holiday season has already begun
Youthlinc Community Center Groundbreaking
Thank you to everyone who attended or has supported our Capital Campaign for the Youthlinc Community Center. On Saturday October 24, we were able to hold a Groundbreaking Ceremony to start preparing the land on our new property. The program
Combat Loneliness Through Service
A report in 2018 from Kaiser Family Foundation found that 22 percent of Americans say they often or always feel lonely (that’s 55 million people and twice the number of Americans with diabetes!). Vivek Murthy, former US Surgeon General, feels
Youthlinc Service Year Referral Program
Youthlinc’s most powerful recruitment tool is, and probably has always been, word of mouth. When individuals who have participated in the Service Year share their experience with people who know and trust them, those individuals are much more likely to
Youthlinc@Home Updates
Youthlinc@home was created during COVID to provide safe opportunities for individuals to volunteer and learn. To date, our student and volunteer participants have dabbled in coding, yoga, art, and many other fun and exciting learning experiences. It has been a
Five Important Changes to the Youthlinc Service Year
By: Jackie Moynihan The 2020-2021 Service Year might look a little different to our Youthlinc veterans. Here’s a quick rundown of some important changes to be aware of and the reasoning behind them. “Application” to “registration.” For the first time
Serving through Technology, Youthlinc@Home
It would be an understatement to say that in the past few months we’ve experienced some challenges to our established way of life. Our current situation has redefined many things we took for granted, and all of us are learning
Young Humanitarian Award Winners 2020
High School Winners $5000 Winner Taylor Fang Senior at Logan High School Taylor is passionate about sharing technology with girls of diverse backgrounds. She is the founder of Girls Explore Tech (GET), a 7-week series of free, hands-on workshops for
2020 Real Life Finalists
Youthlinc is pleased to announce the awarding of five academic scholarships honoring Real Life high school seniors and college students of refugee or immigrant background. We would like to recognize the Low Family Foundation, the Barker Charitable Foundation and an
Meet the 2020 Young Humanitarian Finalists
service, local service, Young Humanitarian Award, student, high school, college, scholarship, utah, lifetime humanitarian, COVID-19, impact, Annual Benefit
Be a humanitarian while social distancing
By Jackie Moynihan, Real Life Director Stay home. Social distance. Wash your hands. Flatten the curve. As global citizens, it is our responsibility to protect each other. Not everyone has the luxury of staying home, especially those on
Bringing local service a little closer to home
By Shannon Moss, Youthlinc Project Manager The COVID-19 pandemic has changed almost everything about our everyday life. Meeting up with a group of friends on a Friday night has changed to a group FaceTime call. Shopping trips have been
COVID-19 Community Resources
If you or someone you know is in need of help during the COVID-19 pandemic, please check out this list of community resources. Thanks to Salt Lake Community College’s Thayne Center for Service & Learning for sharing! CLICK HERE FOR
Real Life Scholarship for Refugee and Immigrant Students
By Shelly Burningham Accepting applications through March 15, 2020. Click here to learn more about the Real Life Scholarship. Over the past few years in Real Life, many students have indicated that they want to go to college and have
How Promise South Salt Lake Shaped the History of Real Life
By Shelly Burningham, Real Life Director Real Life is an after-school tutoring and life skills peer mentoring program that partners Youthlinc with a variety of organizations in Salt Lake County. Real Life provides active, practical, after-school programming to teens, tween