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Youth Lead the Change

Boston youth ages 14-25 have the power to spend one million dollars every year through a participatory budgeting process.

The mission of Youth Lead the Change is to engage Boston’s youth in the democratic process by giving them the power and resources to effect tangible change in their communities. The program aims to build leadership skills, enhance civic participation, and strengthen the connection between young residents and city government. OYEA is now accepting ideas for YLC and we need your help to reach our goal of collecting 1000 ideas!

Idea Collection for the 2024-2025 YLC participatory budgeting cycle is open! Open the form below to submit your idea.

Idea Collection

We want to see your ideas in the form above! Tell us what you would call it, what you would build, where it would happen, who it would help and how.

It should check the following boxes:

  • It is a "capital" expense, meaning it calls for building or creating something physical. (Ex: Adding shelter beds, not hiring additional staff.)
  • It's something the City of Boston government can do. (Ex: Happens in schools or on streets, not on the MBTA.)
  • It would cost up to $1 million. (Ex: Renovating an existing space, not building one from scratch.)

    Whatever it is, we want to hear your idea! These criteria are simply meant to help you submit the best idea possible.

Promotion Resources

Want to help share YLC idea collection with other youth? Educators, youth workers, and youth leaders can use our Partner One-Pager to bring idea collection to classrooms, programs, and organizations. Our partner resources include a lesson plan and presentation for groups and a social media toolkit to help spread the word:

View the Materials

Program Overview

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