TakingITGlobal

8 # R I S I N G Y O U T H C O M M U N I T Y I M P A C T V O L . 2 Introduction from Jennifer Corriero, Melissa Yaw, and Michael Furdyk September 2022 W hen TakingITGlobal was founded in 1999, conversations with team members imagined possibilities for the world if young people were empowered to contribute to communities both locally and internationally. TakingITGlobal was launched with a commitment. We set ourselves on a path to mobilize resources and expand opportunities for catalyzing social impact projects with local, national and global reach. We designed and delivered many programs to support youth-led action and by 2004, we secured funds from a foundation to oer our rst cycle of micro-grants as part of a global social innovation program. Since then, we've partnered with civic society organizations, foundations, corporate partners, and government agencies to support hundreds of grants for youth-led initiatives in over 50 countries. It was a dream come true when we were able to expand the scope of our concept with oering accessible micro-grants for youth-led community service projects in Canada. In 2017, based on our experience, TakingITGlobal joined a National Coalition as part of the design phase of the Canada Service Corps program. We have been thrilled to launch and grow the #RisingYouth Community Service Grants Program as the micro-grants stream of the Canada Service Corps. Between 2018 and 2022, more than 7,000 grants totaling over $7 million in grant funding has been awarded directly to projects led by youth in every province and territory. This publication marks a milestone in the history of micro-granting, celebrating the stories of a diverse set of grantees from coast to coast. This approach to volunteerism is truly transformational as it empowers youth as agents of change, in being able to imagine possibilities and work towards a future where unique talents, insights, and skills are contributing towards a collective impact. When we rst started the organization over 20 years ago, we had to demonstrate that youth could be trusted to lead projects, to manage budgets and to shape the approaches that are essential to the health and vitality of community development. We hope that in reading the stories of the #RisingYouth grantees featured in this publication, you'll be inspired by the opportunities they created together with teams of volunteers for the benet of helping others. Each project journey has helped participants develop transferrable strengths, skills and experiences that are essential to growing our capacity as a society for complex problem solving. We are grateful to the program participants, members of our team, the network of more than 100 Impact Partners and Community Organizations that have ensured these grants reach the diverse young people they serve.

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