WASHINGTON, DC, UNITED STATES, May 7, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Last week, 30 national organizations convened for A New Era of Youth Service in America Summit at Wingspread in Racine, Wisconsin. Sponsored by Youth Service America, The Johnson Foundation at Wingspread, and The Hershey Company and co-hosted by the National Youth Leadership Council, Points of Light, and America’s Service Commissions, the Summit developed a National Youth Participation Strategy to double youth participation in volunteering & service, voting & civic engagement, youth voice & leadership, and joining & philanthropy over the next 10 years. It will launch this summer as we celebrate America 250 (the United States Semiquincentennial) and start to build the next 250 years of active citizenship in American democracy.
As Youth Service America looks forward to America’s Semiquincentennial on July 4, 2026, we know that only 1 in 4 young people regularly participate in their communities. That means 64 million young Americans are left out of participating in our democracy. This is especially true for young people from low-income families and neighborhoods, young people of color, young people in rural communities, and groups of young people who are often served, but not usually asked to serve.
This Summit was the culmination of a year-long national listening tour that gathered input from over 3,000 people and organizations across the country to inform a national strategy to double youth participation in the United States over the next 10 years on the way to 100% youth participation. With a focus on addressing the four most common barriers to youth participation (lack of opportunities and expectation, lack of knowledge and skills, lack of equitable access and resources, and lack of hope and trust in the efficacy of democracy), Summit participants discussed activation, funding, training, and recognition program capacity-building strategies and policy priorities to address these barriers.
Participating organizations included: AASA – The School Superintendents Association, Afterschool Alliance, American Red Cross, America’s Service Commissions, C&S, Camp Fire, Campus Compact, DoSomething, Generation Citizen, Girl Scouts of the USA, Giving Tuesday, iCivics, InnerView, JustServe, Kiwanis International, Legacy+, Lions Clubs International, Made By Us, National Council for the Social Studies, National FFA Organization, National League of Cities, National Summer Learning Association, National Youth Leadership Council, Points of Light, Rotary International, Service Year Alliance, The Aspen Institute Center for Rising Generations, The Hershey Company, The Purpose Project (an initiative of More Perfect), and Youth Service America.
The New Era of Youth Service in America National Youth Participation Strategy will be announced at the Points of Light Conference in Washington, DC on June 22-24 and will launch around July 4 in celebration of America 250. For more information, visit YSA.org/NewEra.
Michael Minks
Youth Service America
+1 202-650-5061
mminks@ysa.org
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