What it means when youth show up for community
After months of learning about racial inequity and community care, students in the Racial Justice Cohort reached a point where discussion no longer felt like enough.
Throughout the school year, youth at Philip and Sala Burton High School examined issues that affect communities across San Francisco. Through workshops and conversations, they explored topics ranging from housing insecurity to systemic inequities while reflecting on what responsibility communities hold toward one another. Over time, those discussions became connected to what students were seeing in their own neighborhoods and daily lives.
For Deily, that realization was difficult to ignore.
“Through CYC, we’ve spent a lot of time learning about oppressed communities and hearing about the struggles people face,” she said. “It felt hard to learn about those things and not do anything about it.”
That feeling ultimately led a group of students to organize a community care package and food distribution event at the Bayview YMCA. What began as a conversation among peers became an opportunity to support unhoused and low-income community members through food, hygiene supplies, and handwritten notes.
The project emerged through the Racial Justice Cohort, a youth leadership program where high school students explore social justice issues while developing the skills to facilitate conversations, organize projects, and support their communities. Rather than treating these conversations as abstract ideas, the program encourages youth to think critically about how inequity shows up in everyday life and what role they can play in responding to it.
The idea itself took shape gradually. Students explored several possibilities before deciding they wanted to create something centered around direct community support. As planning continued, they spent time researching what items would actually be useful for people experiencing housing insecurity or financial hardship. The care packages they assembled included hygiene supplies, food, and handwritten messages, each chosen with intention.
“Working on the care packages made me think more deeply about what people actually need,” Deily said. “There are things I take for granted that some people don’t always have access to.”
For Mika, the experience shifted how she thought about her own relationship to community. What began as an opportunity to participate in a project became a chance to think differently about the role she could play in supporting others.
“Before joining the cohort, I was mostly focused on myself,” she said. “Learning more about these issues made me want to help other people and do something meaningful.”
For Program Coordinator Luz Moreno, one of the most powerful parts of the experience was watching students move from awareness into action.
“What stood out to me was how thoughtful the students were throughout the entire process,” Luz shared. “They were constantly thinking about what would actually help people and what it would mean to create something that felt welcoming and supportive for the community. Even when challenges came up, they stayed committed to working through them together.”
That commitment was reflected in the way students approached the project. From brainstorming and outreach to assembling care packages and coordinating distribution, every stage depended on collaboration. The event succeeded because students worked together toward a shared goal, learning along the way how to communicate, adapt, and support one another.
“It was really a collective effort,” Mika said. “We worked together and through community we felt empowered to speak up and make something happen.”
For Deily, some of the most meaningful moments happened during the quieter parts of the process. Writing notes and assembling care packages became a reminder that community care is often expressed through small acts of thoughtfulness and connection.
“Writing the cards and putting everything together made it feel more personal,” she said. “It reminded me that people want to feel seen too.”
For Luz, those moments reflected something larger about the potential of young people when they are given the opportunity to lead.
“This project showed me that our youth are paying attention to the struggles people in their communities face,” he shared. “They took what we discussed throughout the program and turned it into action. More importantly, they showed that young people are willing to step up, support one another, and become part of the response when their communities need care.”
While the event lasted only one afternoon, the experience left students with a deeper understanding of what community care can look like in practice. It also reinforced an important lesson: leadership is not always about taking center stage. Sometimes it begins by paying attention, recognizing a need, and deciding to show up.
Programs like the Racial Justice Cohort create opportunities for young people to build that awareness and confidence over time. By creating space for youth to learn, reflect, and take action alongside their peers, these experiences help them recognize that their voices, ideas, and efforts already have value within their communities.
Support from the community helps sustain opportunities like these. Make a gift today to support youth leadership programs at CYC and help ensure young people continue to have opportunities to learn, lead, and care for their communities.