For those of you who know Young People For's initial Fellowship Program model, you know we started out focusing exclusively on four-year colleges and universities. In 2006, we started investing in community college students, who tend to be more connected to their communities than four-year college students.  

The make up of community college students is disproportionately comprised of higher percentages of lower-income students, first generation college students, and students of color. Making a strategic investment in and providing appropriate resources to community college students is a critical step to building up strong community leaders and activists.

Did you know?

* 46% of all U.S. undergraduates are enrolled in a two-year or community college: Highly competitive and expensive four-year college admissions make two-year colleges more accessible to students from lower-income and families of color.

* Disproportionately, there are more lower income, students of color on community college campuses than in four-year institutions: Of all African American students in the U.S., 47% are enrolled in a two-year college; of Hispanic, 56% and of Asian/Pacific Islander, 48%.

* Just under half of all students in community college are non-credit, meaning they are attending college for the purpose of advancing their career or education for its own sake.

* Transfer rates to four-year institutions are high, indicating a competitive academic environment that compels students to excel in the classroom and get involved in the campus community.

Not enough opportunities exist to foster the participation of two-year or part-time lower-income students in progressive leadership development programs. Young People For designed our community college program with the goal of increasing leadership opportunities among lower income students and students of color attending community colleges.

We started out with a pilot in 2006 that sought to identify and nurture leaders and to conduct a larger research study on how to best engage progressives on community colleges.  The pilot was designed to:

1. Increase the number of lower income, first generation college students, immigrants, and students of color in progressive leadership positions on college campuses through the Young People For Fellowship program.

2. Work to remove the socioeconomic barriers to political participation and civic engagement for young progressive leaders.

3. Enable students who are not continuing on to a four-year university to effectively organize their communities.

As a result of the pilot, in 2007, we will be deepening our investment by recruiting over 30 students from 12 Community Colleges in 11 states.

We need your help to:

1.    Identify students and nominate them for the program

2.    If you're running a youth program, start building your own outreach to community colleges!

Our Community College report will be released soon, so please stay tuned.

In the meantime, if you're actively engaged with community colleges, please share your experiences and how we can best support you and your work!