USA Funds Helps Indiana Black Expo Promote Education, Leadership

A grant from USA Funds^® supported Indiana Black Expo’s educational initiatives for youth. Since 2003 USA Funds has awarded $290,000 to support two IBE educational initiatives — the annual Youth Empowerment Summit and Back-to-School Rallies.

“These two IBE youth initiatives are helping African-American students achieve their highest potential and take pride and prepare for their future,” says Kyle Malone, manager, USA Funds access and outreach. “USA Funds is pleased to sponsor these events and help make a difference in the lives of the students and family members that participate.”

Youth Empowerment Summit
The Youth Empowerment Summit was part of the annual IBE Summer Celebration in Indianapolis in July. The Youth Summit aims to empower, train and organize youth to assume leadership positions in their communities. The event is a major attraction for IBE and involves up to approximately 250 youth, age 11 to 18, adult chaperones and many volunteers. The conference includes youth from Indiana Black Expo’s 12 chapters, Indiana Family and Social Services Administration-sponsored youth groups and representatives from other youth service organizations statewide. 

Themed “Youth Leaders for Future Change,” the Youth Empowerment Summit includes peer training, networking, educational workshops and entertainment. Attendees also report on the results of community service projects assigned during the previous summit.

This year, the Youth Empowerment Summit organizing committee worked with a youth focus group, to design the summit in accordance with the goals of the summit while making its workshops and activities relevant to the attendees’ needs. After reviewing the youths’ suggestions, organizers designed workshops around the following topics:

• Education.
• Mental health.
• Service learning.

All youth attended one track of workshops. Each track included three workshops and addressed a different component of the track’s topic. Upon completion of the track, each student received a certificate of completion and the opportunity to share the information with others in the community.

Students also participated in a service learning scavenger hunt, where they sought additional resources on their topics and created presentations to share in their communities.

Back-to-School Rallies
This year, more than 10,000 students participated in IBE Back-to-School Rallies, which are conducted in each of the 11 IBE chapter cities across Indiana. The rallies help students enter school ready to learn by providing educational materials and school supplies.

The rallies also incorporate local school goals in areas such as parental involvement, academic achievement and cultural awareness. Parents, students, teachers and school administrators come together during the rally to formulate plans for working together to achieve these goals.

“USA Funds’ generous contribution to these great programs enlightens thousands of youth to the possibility of higher education,” says Quiana Graham, director, youth and family programs, Indiana Black Expo. “Youth who participate in these activities not only learn that education is essential to success, but that it is accessible to them if they seek it.”