Students and Youth:

Starting from Scratch - Building a Coalition in your Community or on Your Campus…

In order pass the YAA, it is vital that students and youth play a major role in advocating. Following are some simple steps you can take to create a coalition in your community or on your campus.

1. Join with a small group of other students and youth to create a local coalition of young people, all gathered for the purpose of advocating for the Younger Americans Act. Pull together a core group of young people that you know-anywhere from 3 to 15 others. These can be people you know from your school or from your neighborhood. This will be the group who publicize the effort and plan the first meeting.
   
   
2. Publicize this effort to other groups-student-based groups at your school such as service groups and youth-serving agencies in your community such as the United Way. Distribute information about what you are doing-through flyers, etc-to their members, trying to connect their work to support for the YAA.



3. Publicize this effort to other students and youth in your school or in your community. This can be done through flyers and other informational sheets given out on campus or in local public schools, libraries, and community centers.



4. Plan and hold a first meeting. In all of the materials used to describe the effort, let people know about a first meeting. There are several important steps involved in planning a first meeting:
   
   
   1. Find a place. Speak with the facilities staff person at your school or an adult with whom you work in a program or organization to identify and reserve a room.
   2. Get refreshments. For under $10, you can get a couple of bottles of soda and some chips. Keep in mind: a little food can go a long way in getting people to your meeting!
   3. Be prepared. Prepare your words, and have an action plan. Be sure to have a sign-up sheet so you can collect the names and contact information (especially e-mail addresses) of all of those who attend. In addition, you should think out beforehand, among the small group of you putting the meeting together, what you would like to have as a first activity (i.e., letter-writing effort, phone-calling activity, etc). Although you do not want to determine what the local coalition does yourself, you'll want to have some idea of a first step so that people have something to get involved in from the start. You also might want to be prepared to set up committees at this first meeting-they could handle recruitment, media, legislative efforts, or any other areas relevant to your school or community.
   
   
   First meetings usually bring in a lot more people than other meetings. If you are ready-with a sign-up sheet, with an event in the works, with committees to sign up for, etc-you can catch people's attention and keep them involved. If you are not prepared in this way, they might lose interest-and you will have a hard time getting them back.



5. Move forward from there. After you have your first meeting, establish committees, and conclude your first project, it is up to you to decide what you want to do next. You know what is most important for young people in your school and in your community-go ahead and do what you feel will best demonstrates those needs and how the YAA will help fulfill those needs. On the Students and Youth Advocacy Kit page, you'll find everything you need to be effective advocates for the YAA-information about the bill itself (The Basics, You Want More?, Talking Points, Q & A) as well as tips about how to organize specific advocacy efforts (Letter Writing, Phone Calling, Site Visits, Visit to a Congressional Office, Media, Handouts, How a Bill Becomes a Law). By combining that with the step-by-step guide we have provided here, we hope that we have given you all that you need to start up a local coalition of youth and to work through that group to effectively lobby for the YAA.

The Older Americans Act of 1965 has had a profound impact on the lives of senior citizens over the last 35 years. It has shaped the web of support and services that exist for senior citizens, creating much of what we see in communities across the country today (i.e., senior citizen centers, Meals on Wheels, etc.). The Younger Americans Act has the potential to have the same impact for America's youth. Even more exciting than that is the thought-and the reality-that you can play a big part in making it happen.

As you embark on this exciting effort, we will be there for you every step of the way. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact David Burd, National Student Coordinator, at (215) 382-2915. Students can also find more information about the student effort in other links on the Advocacy Kit page. If you are part of a local youth-serving agency, feel free to contact Cassandra McKee, Chair of the Grassroots Advocacy Committee, at (202) 783-7949, ext. 3112.