Young Involved Philly lines up behind three worthy initiatives

A civic-minded group of young Philadelphians has awarded small grants to propel three projects that aim to make their city more livable and just.

Young Involved Philadelphia (YIP) is the group.  At Saturday night’s final showcase of State of Young Philly’s event series, YIP announced the three winning ideas that emerged during two weeks and 13 events.

They are:

OKWork!Philly – The idea is to build a new, Philadelphia-focused online forum that would bring together qualified job seekers with employers look to hire.   The four-member team proposing the project thinks the site could help market the city and its employers to potential and new residents, and help employers swiftly review the credentials of local residents.
Project Bike Generator – This team will seek to create bicycles that generate electric power and can be hooked up to three demonstration stations.  One station will show how to choose energy-efficient electronics. Another will demonstrate how to make homes more energy efficient. The third will show vividly how different types of light bulb consume kilowatts. Bikes sized for adults and children will be provided. The ultimate goal is build community understanding of sustainable practices.
It’s My Life – This project aims to help teens in the city avoid unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases.   Students of ages 14 to 17 in four city schools will be offered two-hour workshop with role playing exercises.

All three projects are getting $1,000 grants from YIP.

This idea of giving minigrants was a new wrinkle for the group, whose State of Young Philly projects in the past have focused on gathering the input of younger city residents on what they’d like to see the city become.

“We’re taking that energy and funneling it into an actual project,” explained YIP programming chair Jason Wolfson. “[The minigrants initiative] gives us another platform for people in the city to see that Young Involved Philadelphia is continually trying to bridge those gaps in areas where young people feel that there are gaps,” Wolfson said.

YIP received 20 project proposals, according to Wolfson. The final event was held at the University of the Arts.  Many earlier events during this year’s State of Young Philly were held at the Kimmel Center.

Disclosure: WHYY is a State of Young Philly media partner.

This report was done in collaboration with Generocity.org, an online platform to help people stay informed, connected, and involved with civic engagement in the Philadelphia region.