Initiatives

Service Academy is about youth purpose and potential.

We have developed a collection of ideas and initiatives to lower barriers for young people to use meaningful social impact activities to develop the skills they value.

We are working hard to convince a broad audience that better youth service opportunities will improve the lives of millions of young people, our education systems, local economies, and communities.

We want to empower young people to expect more from youth service.

We want to inspire the adults that care about us to help increase the social value of youth service by increasing the demand for changemaking skills and experience.

Our initiatives are to:

Hyper-local action

Our youth service journey started in our own community in Middletown, Rhode Island. It is through our local efforts that we hope to develop solutions that are templated and scalable to share with young service advocates in other communities. #SGForService #RhodeIslandYouthServiceCapitaloftheWorld #LocalisGlobalImpact

-Reimagining

Reimagine youth service with us. Youth service is a big tent, and everyone is welcome. The challenges our communities face and opportunities to help address them are large enough for everyone to pursue their purpose, develop skills, and find community working together.

- Elevating Voices

We share stories of social impact superheroes that inspire us to act.

- Resource Lab

Explore the tools we’ve created to help on our own service journey. We hope they will help you too!

Self-Assessment: Superpower Field Guide (beta)

Discover a new way to communicate what matters most to you by taking this self-assessment. A new framework for thinking and acting using the new common language of purpose.

Youth Service Research & Learnings

Youth service has a branding problem because of a lack of shared understanding about what youth service is and its value to young people today. This is clear from our wide-ranging interviews and surveys with students, parents, school staff, and teachers, and from researching social impact superstars. A cornerstone of Service Academy is the learnings we glean from ongoing research and conversations about youth service. Our research will focus on advancing a shared understanding of the role and purpose of youth service. With that, we can create a larger, more efficient youth service marketplace with meaningful support structures and social rewards.

Card Game: Multiplicity of Pursuits

Play Multiplicity of Pursuits, a card game designed to inspire revolutionary ideas and motivate extraordinary life choices. This card game, based on Cards Against Humanity, makes social impact brainstorming fun. It’s a new way for young people to reconsider their preconceived notions about youth service and discover new pathways to help them achieve their aspirations.

New Service Toolkit – Launching Winter 2023

Download a how-to guide to create a modern youth service ecosystem in your school and community, inspired by the IDEO Human Centred Design Toolkit. Everything we do is templated and scalable so it can be easily shared, applied and improved by other youth service advocates. Coming Soon