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Generation Change
There is a surge in people interested in pursuing long-term careers in community organizing in poor and marginalized communities. Generation Change, a program of the Center for Community Change, is dedicating to recruiting and training new community organizers.
If community organizing is an undesireable profession, as Governor Palin and Republican speechmakers seem to indicate, someone should tell the thousands of young people who are flocking to learn more about it. Since 9-11, there are record numbers of young people applying for volunteer and service programs in low-income communities, including Teach for America, City Year, and Public Allies. The recent Service Nation summit, attended by both presidential candidates, highlighted this growing movement.
Many of these young people are interested in more than a short-term experience with service. There is a surge in people interested in pursuing long-term careers in community organizing in poor and marginalized communities. Generation Change, a program of the Center for Community Change, is dedicating to recruiting and training new community organizers. In 2007, our first year, we received 247 applications for 25 summer community organizing internships. In 2008, we experienced a five-fold increase in applications---to 1200 applications for 65 internships and longer term fellowships. These applications came from every corner of the country. Our highly diverse 2008 class---85% people of color, including African Americans, Latinos and other immigrants, 75% women, 25% LGBT---worked with host community organizations to register voters, promote affordable health care and housing, educate communities to increase HIV/AIDS awareness, assisted low-wage workers to increase wages and benefits, among
other things.
If you'd like to learn more about Generation Change, or be informed of upcoming training opportunities, please click here.
Read more about Generation Change in an interview with former intern Neha Singhal.
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