1. Engaging Students in Contemporary Issues and Civic Action Through Art
Dwight Stuart Foundation
12-Month Report
The $10,000 grant from the Dwight Stuart Foundation supported youTHink’s Youth Services from
November 1, 2011- November 1, 2012, portions of the 2011-12 and the 2012-2013 school years.
Progress on objectives and activities / Adjustments made:
During this time period, youTHink Youth Services has served 562 students. Some students attended
multiple events for a total of 736 units of service. Through students’ written and oral reflections and
tracking student participation, we are pleased to report that the objectives outlined in the original
proposal have been met. These objectives were to:
• Improve youth’s attitudes about the relevance of current events and social issues to their own lives
• Improve youth’s self-esteem and/or self-confidence
• Improve youth’s attitudes about their role in affecting society at large
• Increase youth’s repertoire of tools and skills needed to take action on issues of importance to
them
• Increase participation in community service activities
• Increase interest in making an impact on issues that are important to them
In meaningful ways, youTHink’s Youth Services activities introduced concepts of social justice, social
responsibility and community involvement to middle and high school students beyond the classroom,
using the arts as a primary vehicle to engage students.
youTHink operates in a responsive manner to offer programs that meet the needs and interests of
student participants, reflect the creativity of program staff and community partners, and take
advantage of unique opportunities. Youth Services activities offered this past year:
Internship: Thirty-three middle and high school students from 23 different schools completed the
2011-12 internship in June. These students commit to a year-long program to develop their
leadership and communication skills, and to learn tools to take action to make a difference in their
communities. Interns attend two training/ planning meetings per month, hosted new students at a
range of Student Programs, and participate in a series of unique projects.
We had 149 applicants for the 2012-13 year, the most we’ve ever received. Due to this increased
demand, we decided to add a second internship cohort this year as a pilot. Our original internship is
now called the Leadership Internship, and the new cohort has a stronger focus on social change, and
is called the Action Internship. There are 34 Leadership Interns and 12 Action Interns.
Student reflections about their experiences in the 2011-12 internship:
• I learned that I have the power to strongly affect people and change their lives. I learned that
making social change is possible.
• I have grown as a result of the internship mainly by becoming a role model and leader. I
learned to take charge in helping someone and being the best I can be.
A program of the Zimmer Children’s Museum
6505 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 100, Los Angeles, CA 90048
Tel.: (323) 761-8311 ♦ Fax: (323) 761-8990
www.youthink.org

2. • I’ve developed persistence, and this makes me a better leader by allowing me to not give up
on a goal that would make a positive impact.
• I’ve grown as a person by learning how to trust myself. That was just the beginning of
learning how to work with others to produce a great change!
Teens and Government in Action: Forty-eight middle and high students from 18 different schools,
including youTHink student interns, participated in Teens and Government in Action (T&G) this spring.
This 7-session project was designed to teach students about the workings of government and the role
they can play in the legislative process. Students visited City Hall to attend a City Council meeting,
meet with city officials and understand the role of city government. Then, students selected a bill of
importance to them and traveled to Sacramento to advocate for this bill in meetings with their
legislators at the State Capitol.
Student reflections about the T&G project:
• We need to be involved with the government to know what is going on.
• It doesn’t matter what age you are, because you can still make change.
• I see youth as the catalyst for change.
• When we were at City Hall I was treated as an adult rather than a teenager, and I liked that.
• I see that the youth can actually sign a form or a petition and go up to chambers and discuss
anything they want to resolve. They, too, can voice their opinion.
• I think it’s important for youth to visit with government officials. We have a lot of opinions. So
instead of waiting, we should actually do something.
College Access Project: We continue to expand the college services we offer our students. In 2012,
we have served 225 students through College Camps, college prep workshops and college visits.
Some students attended multiple events, for a total of 303 units of service. Since November 2011, we
offered college visits to Marymount College, Cal State Channel Islands, the Art Center College of
Design and UC Irvine. This summer we also held two College Camps - college prep intensive
programs- at USC. One camp was for rising seniors and the other for rising 9th
-11th
graders. We are
offering college essay writing workshops for seniors this summer and fall. We are delighted that one
of the students we worked with last year received a Gates Millennium Scholarship and is now
attending UCLA.
Student Programs: youTHink offers a range of enrichment and community involvement programs
each semester for middle and high school students from all over Los Angeles.
Since November 2011, Student Programming events has included:
o A 3-session photography workshop that culminated with a student photography exhibit at
Hamilton-Selway Fine Art
o A ropes course and outdoor adventure program
o Community canvassing with Amnesty International
o An Art & Nature event at Anabolic Monument Park
o A hike in Topanga State Park with Inner City Outings
o An Art & Nature event at the LA River
o A 2-session Theatre for Social Justice workshop
o Building a community garden at Quincy Jones Elementary School
o Compton Creek Cleanup as part of Big Sunday
o A 2-session art workshop called Picture Me, conceptualized by Peter Schulberg of
Eco-logical Art
o A 3-day Art & Nature Camp at La Tierra de la Culebra Park
o A visit to the Hasbro Hub- meeting with artists and producers
A program of the Zimmer Children’s Museum
6505 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 100, Los Angeles, CA 90048
Tel.: (323) 761-8311 ♦ Fax: (323) 761-8990
www.youthink.org

3. o Coastal Cleanup Day with Heal the Bay
o Models of Pride Conference (students co-facilitated two workshops)
o Dia de los Muertos event with Self-Help Graphics coming up in late October
Student Transportation. The success of youTHink’s Youth Services can be attributed in part to the
fact that the program provides shuttle transportation for students to be able to attend intern
meetings and participate in activities that are held in various locations throughout Greater L.A.
The program serves diverse students, many coming from the poorest sections of Los Angeles.
Shuttles pick up students with the greatest need from their homes or schools, transport them to
the activities and then bring them home.
Evaluation: We are delighted to have made arrangements with Dr. Shelly Harrell of Pepperdine
University to conduct an in-depth evaluation of our internship program. She and a team of graduate
students have designed a variety of evaluation tools. Pre-tests were completed at the outset of the
internship, and post-tests will be completed at the end of the year. Graduate students will be
attending interns meetings and events throughout the year to collect additional data about the
impact of the program and students’ experiences. They will generate a report with their findings in
the summer of 2013.
Challenges encountered and how addressed
As student interest in our programs increases, we are faced with making difficult choices about how
to best serve them. For example, the combination of the large number of students (149) who applied
for the 2012-13 student internship, and their varying interests and skill levels, made it clear that
students come to youTHink with different needs. While we were unable to serve all interested
prospective interns, we decided to meet the needs of the general student pool, as always, through
our Leadership Internship. In addition, we created the Action Internship, a new pilot program for
students with more leadership and community involvement experience, who were eager to
participate in a more student-driven program. This is our attempt to effectively address differing
student needs to the best of our ability within our program’s means and staffing capacity.
Our geographical reach has also expanded, based on student and teacher interest. We now have
significant numbers of students participating from the San Fernando Valley and Hollywood- two new
areas for youTHink. Teachers have been actively involved supporting our programs and recruiting
students to participate. This is a wonderful development; the challenge is that demand exceeds our
capacity to deliver services. We have limited staff, and as more students join us, transportation and
food costs increase. We do our best to say yes as often as we can, in as cost efficient ways as possible,
since our youth are often underserved.
Original budget
All grant funds were used. As in previous years, the grant from the Dwight Stuart Foundation helped
us leverage other funds.
Plans to share findings from work
Findings from this project are also shared with other funders and prospective funders, and are
promoted through the Zimmer’s newsletters and the youTHink website.
A program of the Zimmer Children’s Museum
6505 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 100, Los Angeles, CA 90048
Tel.: (323) 761-8311 ♦ Fax: (323) 761-8990
www.youthink.org

4. Financial Report
Youth Services 2011
PERSONNEL
Dwight Stuart
Foundation Costs
Staff 96,000
Benefits @ 18% 17,280
Total Personnel 103,280
PROGRAM EXPENSES
Art & program supplies 2,000
Program food & provisions
Contracted services 500
Program venue rental & fees
Transportation 4,000
Curriculum materials/printing 500
Marketing/Publicity
Student scholarships
Program facilitators 3,000
Equipment
Total Program 82,000
TOTAL BUDGET 10,000
BUDGETS
A. 2011 Youth Services Budget
PROGRAM EXPENSES*
Food and provisions 12,000
Art and program supplies 15,000
Transportation 30,000
Venue rental 6,500
Program facilitators 2,200
Artists 7,000
Materials printing 4,000
Contracted services 1,900
Promotion, publicity and postage 1,800
Student scholarships 1,000
Conference presentations 600
Direct Program Expenses Total 82,000
*This budget does not include Personnel and Benefits, which are an additional $135,600.
Total Program Budget is $217,600.
A program of the Zimmer Children’s Museum
6505 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 100, Los Angeles, CA 90048
Tel.: (323) 761-8311 ♦ Fax: (323) 761-8990
www.youthink.org