The intentional infusion of 40 million young people into organizations in numerous roles is the concept of “Youth Infusion.” We see it happening among nonprofits and government agencies. This exciting trend indicates a larger change – a paradigm shift – that can lead to the end of age segregation. Pioneering organizations recognize the invaluable perspectives of the rising generations and demonstrate it through committed, intentional practices.
Why? Why not! Everyone benefits from a wider lens. Young people prove their strength to themselves and the broader community, while dedicated professionals benefit from young collaborators that fuel new thinking to pursue the organization’s mission.
“Where young people are an equal part of the conversation that led to a whole number of decisions that made a far better investment of our city’s dollars than what we were originally thinking”. – City Planner
“We need to figure out a way to engage our high school teens within our organization in a fundamental employment capacity. It is business and impact smart.” – Nonprofit CEO
“It’s such an inspiration for youth when working with older people so wise who listened and worked as allies and as friends and as colleagues rather than sitting and waiting for our turn to speak..” – 11th Grader
2025 Year End FREEBIE
25 Must-Have FREE
Youth Infusion Resources
25 Must-Have FREE Youth Infusion Resources is now available! Click to receive this unprecedented mix of free resources that support Youth Infusion!
Thanks to the innovators who contributed!
HANDBOOK FOR YOUTH INFUSION
Intergenerational duo: Co-authors Wendy Schaetzel Lesko and Denise Webb, Why Aren’t We Doing This! Collaborating with Minors in Major Ways
WHY Aren’t We Doing THIS? Collaborating with Minors in Major Ways documents and inspires real engagement with tools, cases and plans.
We identified organizations that recognize the irreplaceable insights, intuition and ideas of young people to drive their mission. We probed to understand their visionary commitment to embed young people as thought partners and co-strategists. We collected effective policies and practices. We interviewed senior executives, managers and teens. We distilled these emerging organizational systems. Now, we need all of you!
“The exclusion of youth from public and private decision-making harms all of us. To live up to our values and ensure better outcomes, we need to engage the millions of Americans under eighteen. Denise Webb and Wendy Schaetzel Lesko offer a rousing call-to-action for collaborating with young people and a practical guide to changing how our organizations function. Open the book and open your mind. ”
– Adam Benforado, New York Times bestselling author of Unfair and A Minor Revolution: How Prioritizing Kids Benefits Us All.
Some Highlights :
- 16 major reasons to bring minors in-house
- 16 organizational commitments to tap the teen knowledge bank
- 30+ strategies to recruit a truly representative teen cohort
- 24 communication techniques that show respect for all
- Tools to reveal biases and assess your organization’s innovative spirit
- Who are the “unseen” youths, where to find them and why you need to include them now
- What not to say to teens; instead solid ways to interact
- How to work with HR and compliance experts to develop safe policies to protect minors, adult staff and your organization
- Tips for teen-sensitive onboarding, energized meetings and welcoming work environment
Why Aren’t We Doing This!
Collaborating with Minors in Major Ways
Youth Infusion HUB provides RESOURCES you can use and ways to connect for more support.
Check out our HUB for freebies, links to our LinkedIN Group and ways to connect. The Youth Infusion Hub is home of our InterGen Collaboration Knowledge Bank and opens the door to a whole community of support for your own style of Youth Infusion, whether your focus is youth voice, civic engagement, youth leadership, intergenerational collaboration or anything else!
Connect and Collaborate with Visionary Leaders – for FREE!
We invite you to our LinkedIN group to connect with others working toward making this remarkable movement the norm! Forward-thinking leaders and youth practitioners as well as teens share insights and resources including podcasts, videos, research and more.
Blog Spotlight: Youth Civic Engagement Trends
Check out these posts that highlight promising practices of co-designing with young people in numerous sectors including health, education, environment, law enforcement, libraries, urban planning. One of our favorites is the Catalytic Credibility + Clout of Young Advocates.
Please invite us to highlight your organization and also contact us to submit a guest blog post!
Youth Infusion 