Be The Change Youth Initiative

Our primary motivation at Be The Change Youth Initiative (BTCYI) is suicide prevention in youth. We concentrate on three areas: Share Stories. Extend Compassion. Take Action. We've broken down funding priorities into three main areas: Event, Messaging, and Replication. 

• Events: Investing in a quality sound system (sound board, speakers, microphones, amps) is a priority and our largest expense. Currently, we depend on the equipment provided at a venue. Having our own opens more opportunities. 
• Messaging: Marketing and Production 
  • Merchandise is our second largest source of revenue. We also create resources to have on hand at events. 
  • Production includes our podcast, video and music content, and development of Be The Change Collective, the music arm of BTCYI. We've been out-sourcing our video production, but are working toward doing that in-house as we purchase equipment. 
• Replication is our goal. Our big dream is creating Be The Change chapters  in schools throughout the United States, and other parts of the world. Our primary funding needs to meet this goal would be the creation of resources, specifically a curriculum to help cultivate conversation and civil engagement. 
• Personal Goal: Creation of an app to help youth connect and create change together, locally and globally.  

BTCYI came from my desire to raise money for Make-A-Wish to celebrate my 15th birthday. Recruiting some friends, we raised $7,000 by using our talents to create fundraisers. Over the next two years, with simple tasks like building Legos, youth across the country helped raise over $50,000 for partner organizations.  

In 2019, my dad quit his job, we sold our home, bought a RV and took BTCYI on the road, partnering with Make-A-Wish America in Texas. That May, at a show in Austin, Texas, my brother shared his story of struggling with depression and suicidal ideation. (My brother and I use our music as a platform for the message of BTCYI through Be The Change Collective.) The response from both teens and parents completely changed our lives and BTYCI. Now we work to de-stigmatize issues surrounding mental health and equip my generation to engage in hard conversations as we work to make sure youth are seen, heard, and loved. We do this by focusing on three core components: Sharing Stories, Extending Compassion, and Taking Action. (Fundraising is still a part of BTCYI. We've found that helping youth find purpose in helping others is transformational to their mental health journey.)

In 2018, 2,039 high-school aged youths (14-18 years) died from suicide making it the second leading cause of death for this age group. Additionally, 18.8% of public and private high school students surveyed in the 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) reported having seriously considered attempting suicide within the preceding 12-month period. As we traveled the country, youth wanted to engage in conversations surrounding mental health and were more eager to do so when it was peer-driven. With that in mind, we want to educate, equip, and empower a generation to facilitate these discussions. 

BTCYI has many facets all working in tandem. First, we want ALL youth to know they are SEEN, HEARD, and LOVED and that they aren't alone in their struggles. Second, we want them to see purpose in their lives, even through their pain. We do this by creating a space to share stories and encouraging youth to take action, empowering them to be catalysts for change in their communities. Through the creation of opportunities and resources, including our current Community Initiatives and Fundraising Packets, we are equipping a generation to use their gifts to impact the the lives of others. 

After our event in Austin (May 2019), the organizer called to tell us that many parents were asking about the event because their kids were talking to them, in many cases for the first time, about how they were feelings. Despite having heard similar messages from school, community, and church leaders, this event was different for two reasons: This message came from peers who understood their pain and was delivered through a medium that transcends (music). We were using OUR gifts and OUR story to share the message. Because of that night, our family stayed on the road, traveling over 25,000 miles, through 41 states, sharing our story and listening to countless more.

Our conversations always started with the topic of mental health, but inevitably turned to other subjects: racism, gender equality, issues facing the LGBTQIA+ community, gun violence, and politics. Youth had a genuine desire to engage in conversation, but an equal reluctance to share their opinions, or ask questions, for fear of criticism, or confrontation. Because of this, we're committed to educating, equipping, and encouraging youth to have these conversations, knowing they can make a difference in the lives of others, especially those struggling with their mental health.  

Youth want to talk about their mental health, but find it increasingly more difficult to open up without fear of condemnation, or ridicule. We're creating a space to show how to engage in hard conversations and how we can use our lives in advocacy. We're reminding youth they have purpose, even in their pain, which can change their lives forever. So far, we've seen almost 100 youth from across the country raise over $50,000 in financial support for organizations impacting the lives of others around the world. We're working to help empower a new generation of world changers, the next generation of philanthropists. 

We prioritize messaging across multiple mediums (podcast, video, music, social media). Before Covid-19, events provided the best exposure and we're hoping to start these in the Fall/Winter 2021. Until then, we're investing our time and resources in the creation of consistent content to both engage and help the community we're building: starting with the WONDER podcast and the WONDER blog series, then moving to video and music content (we're currently starting this phase), and then concentrating on replication. Creating resources is also a crucial component, proving very effective in gaining advocacy partners.