How it works
The video below walks you through how you can get your organization on Youthward. Once someone chooses your organization, we'll set up an interview with you and your prospective volunteer.
The video below walks through how you can find the organization you're interested in. Once you choose an organization, we'll set up an interview with you and your prospective organization.
Our Team
Get to know a little about us!
Preston Lieu
President
Preston is a senior at Meridian High School. He own Dialogue & Discourse, a publication on Medium with 13,000 followers that reports news and ideas worthy of discourse from bipartisan perspectives. Preston loves debating, playing soccer, and Korean food.
Adrian Park
Vice President
Adrian is a senior at Albemarle High School. He runs Smile Tutors, a student-run nonprofit tutoring organization that offers need-based sessions throughout the community. In his free time, Adrian enjoys fashion, playing soccer, and listening to music.
In the news
How it started
I created Newsian, an informational newsletter introducing teenagers to politics, back in the summer of my freshman year. With hopes of impacting as many lives as possible, I spent hours each day churning out weekly articles to guide America's future voters through the complex political process. Although I had an important idea, constructed an appealing website, and advertised my project through social media on a daily basis, I found myself struggling to receive substantial readership and build an effective audience. I ended up closing the project after a year.
Though it seemed like a failure in the moment, my struggles with Newsian taught me that the hardest part about crafting a sustainable and impactful enterprise comes from finding enough people to foster a community around the issues one cares about. Many of my friends who were founders of nonprofits and other organizations agreed that the main roadblock in their work was garnering enough support to enact effective change. Intrigued, I consulted with the other side: the members. I was surprised to find that many teenagers wanted to be involved in a cause, but the opportunities were limited.
A few months later, Youthward was born.
Awards/Recognition
2023 - 2024
Prudential Emerging Visionaries
These 25 exceptional young people from across the country are being recognized for leading innovative projects to address financial or societal challenges in their communities and their work to create meaningful change. You can read more about the Prudential Emerging Visionaries in the press release here.