Serve Connecticut Youth-Led Service Mini-Grant is a grant from Serve Connecticut that funds youth-led service initiatives in Connecticut that prioritize engaging youth currently underrepresented in youth service statewide. Funded projects must actively involve youth in the determination, design, development, and implementation of their service initiative and must benefit a defined community or cause meeting a documented need.

Mini-grant funding can be used for project development and implementation materials, supplies, personnel, transportation, and removal of barriers to youth participation such as stipends and program fees. Eligible applicants are schools, out-of-school time programs, municipalities, agencies, and youth-serving organizations in Connecticut. Awards are up to $8,000 per project.

Learn more about 2025 Serve Connecticut Youth-led Service Mini-Grant Awardees: In 2024-2025, Serve Connecticut conducted a competitive Youth-Led Service Project Mini-Grant process that netted 151 proposal applications from across the state. Eligible applicants included schools, out-of-school time programs (afterschool or summer), municipalities, agencies and and/or youth-serving organizations.

Youth-led groups were welcome to apply with sponsorship of an eligible applicant listed above.

To qualify for up to $8,000 in funding, proposed youth-led service initiatives: could be new or existing; must prioritize engaging youth that may currently be underrepresented in youth service in our state; must actively engage youth in the determination, design, development, and implementation of the proposed service project/initiative; must include opportunity for participating youth to reflect on and demonstrate learning from their service project/initiative experience; must benefit a defined community (school community, neighborhood, town, etc.) or cause (veterans, seniors, animal welfare, etc.) in a manner that meets a documented need.

Mini-grant funding could be used to fund: youth-led service project/initiative development and implementation (examples: materials, supplies, personnel, promotion, travel/transportation, etc.), and/or removal of barriers to youth participation in youth-led service projects/initiatives (examples: participant stipends or education awards, program tuitions/registration fees, transportation, etc.).

Funding was not permitted to be used for religious instruction, materials not directly related to the proposed program/project, capital expenses, or donations to other organizations. The Commission conducted a scored internal review process of all 151 applications and awarded five grants to youth-led service initiatives for the term of January-September 2025 (detailed below).

Each awarded mini-grant recipient was required to designate one adult representative and one youth representative to act together as team as project/initiative leaders and liaisons with Serve Connecticut staff. Underserved, underrepresented and/or disconnected youth should were encouraged to serve in the youth representative role.

Youth and adult grant representatives attended a virtual welcome and orientation training with Serve Connecticut staff in February 2025. Ongoing contact between grantees was maintained throughout the service project was maintained by both Serve Connecticut’s Director of Programs and the Marketing Officer.

Grantees were required to complete the following grant-related deliverables: Mid-Project Progress Report (project progress, project promotion and receipts to date) End-of-Project Progress Report (project progress, project promotion and remaining receipts) Memory Fox video submission to The AllState Foundation-provided link The Community Table/Mesa Comunitaria Foodshare The Community Table/Mesa Comunitaria Foodshare: Youth-led project sponsored by CLiCK (Commercially Licensed Cooperative Kitchen, Inc.) in Willimantic, CT, that delivers healthy, culturally-relevant food boxes to area households who lack access to resources.

Youth built leadership and community engagement skills through apprenticeships and youth-led service days in support of CLiCK’s Foodshare and Thread City Family Garden. Eight youth apprentices (four juniors and four seniors in high school) led the four components of the project: production, food system development, education and media/promotion.

Youth apprentices increased availability of culturally-relevant produce and value-added products for 34 food-insecure households served by the Foodshare. Youth apprentices also engaged 75 K-4 youth from the Town of Windham Summer Camp in weekly garden activities.

At the end of summer, youth apprentices planned and executed a “Veggies and Victories” garden party to celebrate their apprenticeships and the community they served; the event raised more than $1,000 to support their project.

Co-Curating for Younger Children and Youth with Limited Access to the Arts (cARTie Corp.) Co-Curating for Younger Children and Youth with Limited Access to the Arts: Youth-led project sponsored by cARTie Corp. in Shelton, CT, that engages a youth advisory board in curating a mobile juried art exhibition of middle and high school art that is transported to young children in communities across the state who do not have access to art museum enrichment.

Youth advisory board developed a theme for the 2025 juried art exposition, “Multiple Interpretations,” and issued a call for art open to all Connecticut middle and high school students due May 31, 2025. Youth advisory board reviewed student art submissions and participated in the jurying process alongside local teachers, children and other community leaders.

Youth advisory board participated in co-curation of the mobile exhibit with children and families of cARTie’s Family Advisory Board. The resulting youth-led, juried exhibition is ready as of September 27, 2025, and will be brought this school year to more than 9,000 PreK-2 students across the state with limited access to the arts.

The exhibit will visit 40+ elementary and pre- school partners 3+ times each to build young students' comfort and agency. Free pop-up exhbitions will also be provided every month for communities with limited access to the arts. The youth representative on this project shared pride in bringing the exhibition to life from early brainstorming sessions to its full presentation.

The youth representative noted that a challenge to the service was scheduling and being available due to different schedules and commitments of participating youth. However, they overcame that challenge by finding flexibility and alternative ways of communicating to get things done.

The youth representative also noted the relevance of the theme of the art exhibit to youth leadership: “Youth leadership is about using our voices to inspire others. It’s about coming together to say, ‘Hey, have you looked at this this way before? ’ I see this in the way our exhibition has come together, emphasizing different perspectives and interpretations in art.

” EmpowerHER Period Poverty Initiative for Girls EmpowerHER Period Poverty Initiative for Girls: Youth-led project sponsored by 100GirlsLeading, Inc. in. Bridgeport, CT, that engages youth in providing access to menstrual products and related education to girls ages 10-18 in Bridgeport. Award: $8,000 Over 200 menstrual hygiene kits were distributed to girls ages 10-18.

The youth representative on this project shared her pride in how far the project came from its start: “At first, I just wanted to help girls get access to free pads and tampons. But, it’s turned into something way bigger. We’re actually having real conversations, making sure girls don’t feel ashamed about something that’s totally natural.

” On what youth leadership means, the youth representative reflected: “To me, youth leadership means not waiting for adults to give us permission to care about something. It means stepping up, using our voices, and leading in our own way. It’s about showing that we can make a difference, even if we’re still in high school.

Watching my friends and other girls own their roles, speak with confidence and push for change around period poverty has shown me what real leadership looks like. And, honestly, it feels powerful.

” Danbury High School Peer Leadership Danbury High School Peer Leadership: Youth-led project sponsored by Danbury High School in Danbury, CT, that engages youth in designing and implementing fundraising projects that engage the high school and surrounding communities in raising funds for youth-selected causes.

Peer Leadership youth developed and conducted 10 community events to raise monies for causes they selected together: 1) 3 Versus 3 Basketball Tournament benefitting RAINN; 2) High School Olympics benefitting Backyard Sports Cares; 3) PowderPuff Race benefitting Breast Cancer Research Foundation: 4) Culture Day benefitting Ann’s Place; 5) Cornhole Tournament benefitting Off the Streets Danbury; 6) Fashion Show benefitting UNICEF; 7) Movie Night benefitting Dream Come True Foundation of Western Connecticut; 8) Talent Show benefitting Little Saint Nick Foundation; 9) Field Day benefitting Danbury Animal Welfare Society; 10) Fall Fest benefitting Bella Hope Foundation.

Peer Leadership youth-led events raised a total of $1,969 for the causes noted. Each project had its own youth representative leader; notable insights from these youth include: “Youth leadership to me means giving kids and teens the opportunity to stand up and make a difference for our community. Often leadership roles are taken up by adults and kids are not given the ability to make change.

Youth leadership projects like this allow our students at DHS to stand up and help make a difference for something that is meaningful to them. ” “I was proud that we had a lot of people show up to come and support their peers. It made the environment really fun and loud, which is what I believe is what a community is all about.

” “One challenge we faced was not having enough volunteers to help with planning and setup. To manage this, our core team took on multiple roles and stayed flexible with our timeline. We also reached out personally to friends, family, and community members, which helped us build a small but committed support network to get things done.

” “To me, youth leadership means to have determination, a great work ethic, and bold characters in order to create a positive change for your community. ” “To us, youth leadership is taking the responsibility to represent our community and show up for them by providing resources and creating platforms. Leadership is also the ability to inspire and connect those around us.

” NYLA (New London Youth Affairs) Teen-Driven Community Service NLYA Teen-Driven Community Service: Youth-led project sponsored by New London Youth Affairs in New London, CT, that engages youth in youth-determined service projects while providing positive youth development opportunities to participating youth members.

Award: $8,000 Youth designed and implemented three community events: a Girls Circle Baby Items Drive on May 7, 2025; a Youth Wellness Retreat on May 17, 2025; and a Teen Dating Violence Awareness Fashion Show Event on June 28, 2025.

Youth partnered with several community organizations to develop and conduct these events including the community’s Early Childhood Family Center, Safe Futures Women’s Shelter, and the Cristiano Internacional.

Youth implementation actions on these projects included learning about issues from local community providers, event visioning and planning, supply gathering, promotion and recruitment, donation coordination and collection, and role delegation. Youth expressed excitement about being able to plan and execute their events.

They noted a challenge they faced was selecting specific projects to implement from the project ideas they had identified. They expressed particular pride in having collected and distributed baby items to families in need. Looking to Follow Youth Service Initatives?

You can learn more about Serve Connecticut’s youth service initiatives by following us on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn, as well reviewing our Youth Service Background page: