Youth Council & Boards

BRIDGES connects youth with a range of leadership opportunities across the Greater Memphis area. While some boards require participation in Bridge Builders Collaborate as a prerequisite, others are open to all local youth.

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Our Opportunities

A young woman smiles in front of the camera.
Youth Advisory Board
The BRIDGES' mission is strengthened and upheld with the help of the Young Advisory Board (YAB), who also offers insight, shares decision-making responsibilities, and works to promote youth voice within the organization as a whole.
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A Bridge Builder chats with other members in the climbing area.
Bridge Builders Collaborate Leadership Council
The BBCL's primary focus is to collaboratively develop improvements in program design, development, recruitment, event planning, and facilitation of Bridges youth programming.
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A diverse group of youth sit around a table at a formal meeting of InterCORE.
InterCORE
InterCORE (Intergenerational Collaborative Organizing for Radical Equity) is the intergenerational facilitation team of the BRIDGES Youth Action Center. InterCORE embodies the vision of the YAC by creating intentional spaces where decisions affecting youth include them throughout the planning, implementation, and evaluation phases of those decisions.
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A group of diverse youth gathers together for a photo with Shelby County Mayor, Lee Harris.
Shelby County Youth Council
Youth in Shelby County deserve a voice in government, but without the right to vote, they are often excluded from important decisions affecting their lives. The SCYC was established in 2019 to change that by giving high school students a platform to influence local government and advocate for policies that directly impact youth.
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Two male young adults stand at a podium giving a speech.
Youth Justice Action Council
YJAC is a youth-led council working toward a new age of youth justice reform in Memphis - one that is informed and created with the insights of justice impacted and justice connected youth at the center.
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This training helped me understand the intentional need to place youth at the center of decision making, and all of the tools we can learn from.”
Adult Participant of InterCORE Training
When adults and youth connect truly like we do, it creates an amazing, safe environment.”
Youth Participant of InterCORE Training

Every student counts.

Young people are born with creativity and passion to lead. BRIDGES has worked with thousands of students to unlock that potential and activate new generations of leaders across Memphis.

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*Data from 2022-2023

2,044

Total youth
participated

30

Schools and youth-serving organizations

49

Zip Codes
Represented

4 of 5

students said
their leadership skills improved