Local high school students among 100 teens countrywide gathering in Washington, D.C. to demonstrate the power of youth voice and engage in youth leadership programs

Local high school students Ian Evans and Lily Dixon are among a group of Upper Peninsula teenagers selected to travel to Washington, D.C. later this month for Mikva Challenge’s first annual National Youth Summit.

From May 21 to May 23, the National Youth Summit will bring together 100 diverse young people in Washington, D.C.. Ian, Lily, and their peers will talk, listen, learn, and advocate for solutions to issues most important to them, including mental health, gun reform, and women’s access to healthcare. The selected students will also head to Capitol Hill to advocate for their ideas to elected officials.

Ian is also among a dozen students who will be featured at the Summit’s kick-off event, Soapbox Nation - Mikva’s public-speaking program that will be produced in partnership with historic Ford’s Theatre. The event will draw hundreds of people in person and be available via livestream on Mikva’s Facebook page. On social media, viewers can follow #nationalyouthsummit.

Ian’s call-to-action speech about LGBTQ+ equality and acceptance was chosen from among tens of thousands of his peers. Ian became passionate about his topic after experiencing discrimination first-hand and witnessing discrimination against his peers and friends, both in his school and others. He also is running unopposed for Treasurer of his high school’s National Honor Society branch, is Director of Debates for Junior Statesmen of America, participates in Key Club, and is a lifeguard at his local college.

Lily will be bringing her passion for gun reform to the summit, advocating for reasonable restrictions to the Second Amendment. She noticed a growing fear surrounding attending school and going to public spaces in herself, her peers, and the community at large. This fear only grew with the Michigan State University shooting in February, the school she plans to attend in the fall. Today she plays the upright and electric bass in the jazz band, symphony orchestra, pit orchestra, and symphony winds, volunteers with the environmental club, and celebrates culture with the cheese club she co-founded.

The Upper Peninsula teens’ participation in the National Youth Summit comes as students’ civics scores fell on a national assessment for the first time in two decades. Results released earlier this month from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), known as the nation’s report card, showed civics scores declining for the first time since 1998 while U.S. history scores continued a nearly decade-long decline.

Youth voice and participation are essential to a thriving democracy, and more than 300,000 students across the country have been impacted by Mikva Challenge’s youth civic engagement programs so far this program year. Those programs are getting a big boost, thanks to a $600,000 grant from longtime partner, The Allstate Foundation.

“The Allstate Foundation has been integral to the growth and success of our work, especially our work around equity and justice,” said Verneé Green, CEO of Mikva Challenge. “Thanks to their past and present support, we have been able to more fully embody these values in our work.”

Partners for more than a decade, The Allstate Foundation and Mikva Challenge empower youth through a myriad of programs, and 99% of alumni agree that their Mikva experience made them believe young people have the power to change the country. These values are increasingly important as recent NAEP scores continue to show drops in history and civics scores.

“It’s clear today’s youth are set to accelerate positive changes in society, and Mikva Challenge's work amplifies young voices while engaging them with authentic and meaningful civic opportunities,” said Greg Weatherford II, youth empowerment program officer for The Allstate Foundation. “The Allstate Foundation is proud to continue our partnership through programs and a summit that gathers and empowers youth to develop tangible solutions to societal issues important to them.”

Mikva Challenge 501(c)3 is a non-partisan, not-for-profit organization named in honor of the late Congressman, Judge, and White House Counsel Abner J. Mikva and his wife, educator Zoe Mikva. Founded on the premise that youth voice and participation matter, Mikva Challenge programming develops youth to be empowered, informed, and active citizens who will promote a just and equitable society. Learn more at: mikvachallenge.org.

The Allstate Foundation empowers people and communities, so they can thrive. The Foundation champions programs to empower youth to build the just, equitable and healthy world we all deserve. In partnership with nonprofit organizations, the Foundation creates a continuum of this programming to support youth in school, after school, at home and in their communities.

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