In April, the By Youth for Youth committee awarded $36,447 to 13 local youth programs and projects. BYFY is a collaborative program through the Dane County Youth Commission, United Way of Dane County, the City of Madison Community Development Division, and UW-Extension Dane County’s Institute of Positive Youth Development.
By Youth For Youth’s funding priorities for 2023 were focused on mental and physical health, school programming and student support, youth experiencing poverty, youth experiencing food insecurity, youth experiencing homelessness, climate change, STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics), and immigration.
Funding highlights:
Rooted – “Eggcellent Chicken Coop”: Thanks to generosity from the City of Madison supporting S.T.E.M. related youth projects, $5,000 goes toward the Badger Rock urban farm and youth garden educational chicken coop program. Youth will engage in hands-on learning about caring for and managing the chicken coop to provide organic eggs at a low cost to residents to address food security needs.
Bayview Foundation – “Youth Advocacy & Support Program”: $3,000 goes toward providing low-income BIPOC and LGTBQ+ youth gender-specific spaces and activities to discuss youth issues and build community with their peers.
Avicenna Society of Madison – “Afghan Kabul Cuisine Startup”: $3,000 goes toward funding a Afghan cuisine startup restaurant that will help address poverty, food insecurity, and employment opportunities for Afghan refugee youth in the Dane County area.
By Youth For Youth is a volunteer committee of Dane County high school students that make investment decisions for youth-led programming and initiatives in Dane County. BYFY members identify critical public health issues impacting youth in Dane County, establish funding priorities, review grant proposals, and recommend funding from County and City grants to support projects developed and implemented by youth to serve youth.
Three sponsors provide the funding for BYFY projects: United Way, Dane County Youth Commission and the City of Madison Community Development Division. United Way of Dane County is the fiscal agent for both City and County funds. University of Madison-Wisconsin Extension provides administrative and programmatic oversight in partnership with the City of Madison.
2022-2023 By Youth For Youth Committee Members:
Laila Ahmed Madison West High School
Savanna Bresette Edgewood High School
Jack Christensen Bridges Academy – Studio City
Frency Gandhi Vel Phillips Memorial High School
Alexa Garber Middleton High School
Jenni Granados Osorio Verona Area High School
Bridget Helland Edgewood High School
Lily Hofstetter Edgewood High School
Lindsay Moen Deerfield High School
Olivia Morsbach Edgewood High School
Christine Negovani Vel Phillips Memorial High School, MATC
Sarita Retana Madison West High School
Brynn Ronk Madison West High School
Aurora Ross Madison East High School
Armani Stovall Vel Phillips Memorial High School
Hosanna Tekle Madison West High School
Kalia Thao Madison East High School
Adriana Villagomez La Follette High School
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