As an educator, getting to that "Aha" moment with your students is one of the most gratifying aspects of working with kids. Not just because it doesn't happen every day, but even more so because it's what every mentor wants to achieve: to inspire others.
Striving for that moment of breakthrough is at the heart of Teens Take the City, a program I oversee for New York City's YMCA. The program focuses on leadership development and finding ways to engage youth in current events that shape their lives and those of others. Every session we have at Teens Take the City revolves around figuring out ways to better our communities by identifying core issues and how to solve them through policy proposals, engaging elected officials or hands-on work.
In one of our recent meetings we discussed the tragic water crisis gripping Flint, Michigan. This situation not only moved the teens, but spurred them to action. After talking about the policy issues that caused the Flint crisis, the teens recognized that this type of disaster could truly happen anywhere. It could even have been them drinking lead-tainted water.
Several of the teens recalled the water crisis they and their community faced when Hurricane Sandy devastated New York City, New Jersey and the surrounding areas. Many had friends and family who had to go without water for a few days. It made the Flint crisis personal.
For our New York City teens to be able to put themselves in the shoes of and connect with others as well as process a situation divorced from their reality is nothing short of the breakthrough we seek for them to experience. I couldn't have been more proud.
That is, until they said: "Let's go to Flint."
The teens decided they wanted to travel to Flint and provide the residents the water they so desperately need. While a vital part of Teens Take the City is to teach and inspire civic engagement, ultimately the ideas and solutions must come from the teens themselves. Our role as advisors is to support and help facilitate so that those ideas can come to life.
And that is exactly what we did. The teens launched a collection initiative for cases of water bottles to bring and distribute in Flint. The YMCA network in NYC kicked into gear and 12 branches and local partners worked together to gather donated cases and funds. In total, we had nearly 250 cases of water.
Travelling in a convoy of two vehicles - a U-Haul truck for the water and a van for six kids and four staff members - we drove the 11 hour drive overnight to Michigan. Once we arrived, we had volunteers ready to help unload the truck at record speed. When the teens started handing out the water to Flint residents, I could tell that the weight of that moment crystallized for them.
For some of the students, this was the first time they had left the Tristate area. Now, they were out of familiar territory and had taken the concept of helping others in need from ideation to planning to execution. And they were making a true difference in the lives of others.
What struck the teens the most was coming to terms with the fact that bringing water to Flint was a Band-Aid. While the trip helped ensure that clean water gets in the hands of those who need it, true change needs to come from policymakers, supported by individuals with passionate voices who are willing to stand up for what they believe in.
One of our teens summed up the experience aptly: "What I've learned from this is that Flint is not just dependent on everybody else to help fix the problem, they are taking matters into their own hands." And that's a lesson every one of these kids will carry with them as they become leaders in their communities.