Amherst Offers RISE Youth Leadership Program
Photo: amherstma.gov
Source: amherstma.gov
Multiple Town of Amherst departments are partnering with RISE to offer a 6 week in-person youth leadership program. RISE is a national nonprofit that educates and empowers the sports community to eliminate racial discrimination, champion social justice, and improve race relations. The Amherst program will:
- Create a safe space to break barriers, build trust and create pathways for positive communication
- Provide a leadership and cultural competency curriculum designed by RISE covering topics such as community building, bias, identity, and building trust
- Share new perspectives, develop relationships, discuss the challenges participants face and their collective responsibility to create change and build stronger communities
- Improve relations between youth and the Amherst Police Department
RISE’s curriculum covers topics such as identity, bias, diversity concepts and athlete activism and teaches skills such as perspective taking, empathy, critical thinking and leadership. All sessions will be led by RISE facilitator and Morning Movement and Mentoring leader, Maria Vega. This program is funded through RISE and is free for students to attend. Snacks will be provided. The program meets on Saturdays with six sessions running in consecutive weeks from October 26 through November 23.
The program is coordinated by the Amherst Recreation Department, Amherst Department of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Amherst Police Department, and UMass Amherst Police Department. This program was offered for the first time in spring 2024 and will be hosted again this fall and next spring.
All Amherst Regional Public School students and Amherst residents in grades 7-10, regardless of the school they attend, are encouraged to sign up. This program is funded through RISE and the Town of Amherst and is free for students to attend.
Register here: https://forms.office.com/r/0t2qRmar8n
More information on RISE: www.risetowin.org
For questions on registration or participation, please contact Becky Demling at 413-259-3151 or demlingb@amherstma.gov.