"The truth about recruiting youth is you just have to jump in"

Mo Barbosa, community activist

Attracting youth to your program, and keeping them excited and involved in what they're doing, depends not only on your ability to create a meaningful and rewarding work experience, but also on your ability to "sell" the benefits of involvement and to keep these benefits salient over time.

Today's session lays out the basics of youth recruitment and offers strategies for overcoming some common barriers that often prevent youth from remaining involved.

Recruiting Youth: The Toughest Job You'll Ever Love
Knowing where to find youth who want to work with your program—and with whom you want to work—is as much art as science. It requires planning as well as some risk-taking. Not until you get out there and start looking (and interviewing) can you really develop a sense of who will be a good match for your project. Here are some tips for getting started:

• Know what you are looking for. Be clear on how you want young people to be involved in your program. Identify any special qualities, experiences, and/or skills you would like them to possess. Make sure there is consensus among project staff regarding your expectations for youth. Offer a variety of opportunities; this will help you attract a wider range of candidates.
  
  
• Create promotional materials that clearly describe the project and the issues it will address. Young people should understand what will be expected of them, the relevance of what they'll be doing, and the personal benefits of participation. Make youth want to participate. Highlight what's in it for them— how the project taps into their interests and concerns. If possible, try out your message with a focus group of young people who can help you refine it.
  
  
• Try to recruit young people who represent the population your program serves, taking into consideration academic, cultural, and socio-economic backgrounds. Then, think outside of the box. Consider not only the "academic achievers" and traditional youth leaders (e.g., club presidents, members of student government), but also students who care about the issues and express interest in working on them. Look for "natural leaders"—the young adults that other young people respect and turn to for advice. And don't overlook young people who seem quiet, or who appear to be struggling academically or socially; they may bring to the table an untapped wealth of experience.
  
  
• Cast a wide net. The young people you are looking for are out there—you just need to find them. Consider these strategies:
  
  
  • Post youth-friendly flyers, notices, and posters in places where youth often spend time, such as schools, community centers, corner stores, or pizza or coffee shops. Create public service announcements for radio stations that target the population you are trying to reach.
    
  • Build on personal connections. The number one recruitment strategy is personal contact. People are more likely to say "yes" to people they know. Enlist the help of professionals who work with youth regularly, such as teachers, coaches, youth program directors, and social service providers.
    
  • Tap into programs that already involve youth, such as school-based service-learning programs and religious youth groups. These can be particularly good ways to gain entry into hard-to-reach populations—such as cultural minorities; gay, lesbian, or bisexual youth; disabled youth; and homeless youth—who may be more reluctant to work with adults they don't know.
    
• Involve youth who are already in leadership roles. They can help you identify, and attract, eligible youth who may hang out "off the beaten path."
  
  
• Time your efforts appropriately. Though recruitment should be an ongoing part of your program, focus your efforts at times when youth are most open to engaging in new activities, such as at the beginning of the school year or a new semester, or when you are about to undertake an exciting new project.
  
  
• Offer incentives. Incentives, such as school credit, volunteer service hours, college or work recommendations, or stipends, can be very effective in attracting youth. Stipends can range from $50 per semester to a regular hourly wage, depending on the resources available. By offering incentives, especially money, you are more likely to attract a diverse group of participants, including those who cannot financially afford to spend their time doing volunteer work. You also communicate the message that you value the time and effort of young people, just as adult professionals' time is valued.

• Don't be afraid to screen. If the activity merits it, don't hesitate to conduct interviews and select youth based on their commitment, ability, skills, experience, and diversity. Screening not only helps you select the strongest candidates, but also offers young people the chance to experience the interview process.

Common Barriers to Youth Involvement

In addition to waging a successful recruitment effort, it is helpful to foresee, and circumvent, some of the more common barriers to youth involvement, as described below.

Lack of Resources
Lack of funds and staff time can undermine the best youth involvement efforts. Most programs aren't specifically funded to involve youth. And though the need for additional funds isn't great, the costs associated with publicity and recruitment, training, ongoing support and supervision, supplies, refreshments—and perhaps transportation and child care—-can add up.

In looking for ways to cover these expenses, begin by assessing your in-house capacity. See if any staff, board members, or adult volunteers have the time to participate in your recruitment and training efforts. They may also be able to provide the ongoing direction, encouragement, feedback, and access to resources that young people need. Then, determine how much money can be freed up from the current budget for expenses, such as supplies and refreshments, or to rent meeting space. Be as detailed as possible, so that you are not caught by surprise later on.

Another way to increase your resource capacity is by partnering with other organizations. Collaborations between schools, community organizations, local businesses, and/or government agencies often yield projects that would be impossible to sustain alone. Consider partnering with organizations that offer different resources than your own, and identify ways that both agencies will benefit from the partnership.

Lack of Organizational Support
Having the buy-in and support of key administrators and decision-makers is vital to program success. Sympathetic administrators can provide access to necessary resources. They are also more likely to support changes to policies or procedures that will help the program succeed. For example, if normal business hours are 9 to 5, a sympathetic director may be willing to open the office during the evening so that adults and youth have a common time to meet.

To obtain their buy-in, talk with administrators and decision-makers about your program. Learn about and then address their concerns. Give examples of similar programs that have been successful in other organizations. Provide colleagues with opportunities to connect directly with the young people you are working with and to see how well the program is working. Maintain contact, over time, to address any ongoing or new concerns.

Differences in Language and Culture
It is more likely than not that the adults and young people in your program will embrace differing, and sometimes conflicting, values, attitudes, and practices. How you—and they—handle these differences will have a profound effect on their comfort in working together and their program commitment. Encourage participants to learn about the values and traditions of one another's cultures, and provide forums for adults and young people to discuss their differences. To address language barriers, provide translators or engage participants in translating for others.

As discussed in Day 3, barriers may also exist simply because adults and youth live in two separate worlds, interact in unique ways, and speak different languages. These differences may seem especially pronounced when youth involvement is new to an organization. Again, training can help both adults and youth recognize—and celebrate!—these differences and understand how they influence the work environment.

Lack of Clear Objectives and Roles
All of us—and especially young people—want to feel like we are making a difference and that our input will be heard. When project objectives, tasks, and roles are unclear (or when participants don't know what they are), then volunteers quickly become frustrated and unmotivated. Make sure that youth and adults have a common understanding of what will be expected from both groups (in terms of time and effort), who will make what types of decisions, and what results are expected. Also, be sure to provide ongoing opportunities for feedback and discussion to clarify new issues as they arise.

Logistical Constraints
Never overlook the details. A meeting scheduled for an inconvenient time, or in a location inaccessible to teens, will be a bust—regardless of the skill of the facilitator or the inclusiveness of the agenda. To get young people to participate program activities, it is essential that you consider the following:

• Location. Try to identify a consistent location and space where youth can meet and work so that they feel a sense of connection to the program. The location should be accessible by public transportation; if not, be sure to provide rides. The space should be large and comfortable, and flexible enough so that individuals can work in both small and large groups.

• Scheduling. Typical working hours are 9 to 5—when most youth are in school. Though some young people may be able to attend daytime meetings during school community service hours, prepare to be flexible when planning meetings, events, and other work that will be done with adults. Late afternoon, after school, is often best for young people, though evenings and weekends may also be an option.

• Child Care. When needed, provide child care onsite or close to where you are meeting. Doing so is not only an incentive for youth to join the program, but may also be the only way that a young person who is responsible for a young child can participate.

Competing Interests, Needs, and Priorities
Though most of the barriers discussed so far have been organizational barriers, it is important not to overlook factors in young people's lives that may prevent them from getting or staying involved in your project. The following are some barriers and possible solutions:

Dealing with Turnover
Turnover by youth involved in service programs is an ongoing reality. You cannot do anything about the fact that all youth graduate or leave high school after several years. However, you can strengthen your program to make it more attractive to youth in the face of competing interests and priorities. Many of the suggestions discussed throughout this course will help you create a program that will be appealing to a wide range of young people and keep them involved. Additional suggestions for minimizing turnover include the following:

• Provide ongoing support, supervision, and training.
• Offer positive feedback, as well suggestions for improvements.
• Encourage youth to support one another.
• Provide opportunities for youth to reflect on their work.
• Seek regular feedback from participants about the program and their own performance.
• Provide opportunities for youth to gain skills and experience, to assume a variety of roles, and to increase their levels of responsibility (e.g., by becoming a peer leader, then senior peer leader, etc.).
• Be flexible with scheduling and time commitments.
• Follow up with youth who stop coming to meetings or do not fulfill their responsibilities. Talk about what is going on.
• Provide fun incentives to encourage participation, such as pizza parties and field trips.
• Acknowledge contributions in public ways. Show appreciation for outstanding participants.

Please proceed to Activity 4:
Getting—and Keeping—Youth on Board

References

California Center for Civic Participation. (n.d.) Common Challenges: Youth Voices in Community Design. Retrieved January 7, 2007, from www.youthvoicesoncommunitydesign.org/frames_benefits.html

California Center for Civic Participation. (n.d.). Key Recruitment Stategies: Youth Voices in Community Design. Retrieved January 7, 2007, from http://www.youthvoicesoncommunitydesign.org/frames_recruiting.html

California Center for Civic Participation. (n.d.). Which Is Right for Your Organization? Youth Voices in Community Design , Retrieved January 7, 2007, from www.youthvoicesoncommunitydesign.org/frames_ready.html

Center for Intergenerational Learning. (in press). Recruiting and Enrolling Volunteers. In The Intergenerational Toolkit.

Harvard Family Research Project. (2004, July). Moving Beyond the Barriers: Attracting and Sustaining Youth Participation in Out-of-School Time Programs. Issues and Opportunities in Out-of-School Time Evaluation, 6, 1-16. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Advocates for Youth. Retrieved July 15, 2004, from www.advocatesforyouth.org/publications/iag/involvement.htm

The Medical Foundation. (1997). Peer Leadership Preventing Tobacco. Boston, MA: Author.

Norman, J. (1998). Components of Promising Peer-Led Sexual Health Programs. Advocates for Youth. Retrieved July 15, 2004, from www.advocatesforyouth.org/publications/iag/peer_led.htm

Young, K. S., & Sazama, J. (1999). 14 Points: Successfully Involving Youth in Decision Making. Somerville, MA: Youth on Board.