Healthy Community Initiative

On top of funding valuable community projects, YouthBank helps young people develop essential life skills and prepares them for future careers. Members of the granting committee are responsible for engaging in community research, fundraising, promoting grant opportunities, reviewing requests for funding and engaging in the decision making process, working alongside young people in promoting their work, writing reports and engaging with grant recipients to learn what worked well.

Northfield YouthBank continues to work on educating ourselves and those around us on the far-reaching effects of systemic racism. The murder of George Floyd at the hands of the Minneapolis Police Department in May was a horrific injustice that shed light on the much larger issue of deep-seated and oft-overlooked racism in America—an issue YouthBank commits to addressing.

Two of YouthBank’s core values are equity for all and youth empowerment. We strive to amplify the voices of all youth, but especially those who are underrepresented. All too often, black voices are silenced by a society built on a foundation of systemic racism. Black lives matter, and we stand in solidarity with the black community and with those who are advocating for justice. Dramatic changes must occur in order to build a better, more equitable society.

Racism doesn’t just disappear because people post about it for a week. We should all strive to advocate for racial equality and justice every day of our lives. We pledge to continue our own education and share links to resources, places to donate, and educational tools, as well as highlighting youth who are taking action everyday in the fight against racism. We continue to discuss how our organization can best use its resources to serve you. Please feel free to reach out with any feedback or recommendations.