Diversity & Inclusivity

• Reaching out to schools that primarily serve low-income students

• Fundraising throughout the year to provide financial aid for participants in need

• Giving participants the opportunity to share their experiences of workshops, asking whether or not they felt comfortable or understood

• Mediating issues of sensitivity, intolerance, or misunderstanding if necessary

Anti-Racist/Sexist/Classist

• Educating participants on the history of issues such as race, gender, and class to examine current systems that perpetuate social inequality

• Focusing our workshops on the progression towards an egalitarian society through our efforts as an organization

Understanding Across Difference

• Working alongside participants involved in their community spaces as well as engaging in discussion and participating in workshops with them

• Creating a welcoming environment within our workshops by implementing basic rules like “one mic” (one person may speak at a time)

Empowering Youth Leaders

• Mandating leadership and facilitation training for organizers

• Encouraging participation in marches, lobbying, and other forms of activism outside of trips to ensure that people stay motivated and empowered by their peers

Embracing Individuality

• Allowing participants to take time for their mental health and acknowledging sensitive subjects

• Encouraging all participants to stay engaged in discussion, whether that be through active listening, speaking, or taking notes

Confronting Privilege

• Acknowledging privileges within society in order to take aim at issues in our own neighborhoods, schools, and through our work as Growing Youth Organizers (GYO)

• Dismantling structures that further oppressive person-to-person relations within the organization

Consensus

• Holding discussions with a designated facilitator to ensure that every voice is heard and that any disagreements over major decisions are talked through

Experiential Learning

• Travelling to urban farms in New Mexico, Philadelphia, and New York City to interact with and learn from community leaders with similar missions

• Getting involved in current events outside of our trips, such as the Just Food Conference, Climate March, and Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Working Group (NESAWG) Conference