Doors will blow wide open for you if you make a change during your gap year. On this episode, Cory Herc talks about how youth can make an impact on their community during their gap year, how to get the funding to do it, the skills youth learn and the opportunities that follow.
Cory Herc is the Youth Engagement Activator for Taking it Global’s RisingYouth Program. Rising Youth provides grants for youth 15-30 who want to take action in their community and meet a need that isn’t already being addressed. Activators like Cory mentor youth and connect them to the resources and tools they need to lead their own project.
Grant applications can be overwhelming, but the application for RisingYouth is very simple and an activator is always there to guide applicants through the process. These are the only questions you have to answer:
What is the community?
What is the need?
What are you going to do about it?
How are you going to spend the money?
Also, it’s important to note that it isn’t a competitive process and they have grants of $250-1500 available, so don’t hold back from applying.
RisingYouth gives grants to all sorts of projects. For example, one youth recognized there was a lack of health support in her community, so she created a crisis intervention and mental health workshop led by a facilitator for parents, teachers and students. Another example is someone who wanted to help newcomers learn English through board games.
Youth in this program learn a lot of skills they can add to their resumes. They learn project management skills, budgeting and how to map out a pathway for the outcomes they want to achieve. Through identifying the needs of their community, they’re also learning about sensitivity, compassion, empathy and how to connect with their community in different ways.
Leading your own project with the help from RisingYouth has the potential to open a lot of doors for an individual, which can take your gap year to the next level as you discover what it is you really want to do. Cory has seen doors blow wide open for alumni as they meet so many other people in their city, province and country who have helped build and shape their experiences into something life defining.
If you are 15-25 and have a project in mind that doesn’t already exist in your community, you should apply for a grant with RisingYouth here, or you can contact someone directly funding@takingitgloval.org
If you’re ready to take your gap year to the next level, apply for theGap Year Certification to add to your resume