YOUTH LEADERSHIP IS THE TRUE POT OF GOLD

By Tyler Cavanagh, Development and Communications Manager, SSYP

Leadership can be a loaded word; it means different things to different people. A leader can be someone with formal, official power like being an Executive Director. More often we see leadership exercised in important yet informal ways. Middle schoolers in SSYP’s Youth Leadership Corps (YLC) had the opportunity to exercise their leadership skills on St. Patrick’s Day when they traveled to our elementary site and took over the LEARN program. Sixth, seventh, and eighth graders facilitated fun and engaging activities for our first through fifth grade students.  

With COVID numbers lower than they had been in previous months, SSYP brought back one of our favorite traditions, bridging the gap between LEARN and YLC.  On special days like Halloween and St. Patrick’s Day our middle school students excitedly make the trek from Lenox St. to our program site on Shawmut Ave to run activities for our elementary youth, something they hadn’t been able to do since October.

Some of the activities they ran included making homemade shamrock shakes, a treasure hunt to find a pot of gold, and a rainbow relay race.  The younger crew was not only excited for the activities, but to get to see the older group in action.  The real treat was for the staff though, our pot of gold, we were able to see the hard work of the YLC pay off, and got to share in their pride for facilitating these activities.