Partner Spotlight: YouthBuild USA

One of our newest national partners, YouthBuild USA, is coordinating a 2012 National Voter Registration Campaign with the goal of registering 25,000 new voters in YouthBuild communities across the country.

Incorporated in 1990, there are now 273 YouthBuild programs in 46 states, the District of Columbia, and the Virgin Islands. 110,000 YouthBuild students have built 21,000 units of affordable, increasingly green, housing since 1994.

One reason YouthBuild cites for incorporating voter engagement into their work is a statistic from the last general election: less than 40% of youth ages 18-24 with the equivalent of a high school education voted, while over 70% of youth with a college degree or higher voted.

To close this gap, YouthBuild is working to educate their students and staff about state and national voting laws and to encourage discussions in their programs about the November election. Their goal is to have at least 20 YouthBuild programs active and trained in election protection and turnout this year. In May, staff held Voter Education Days for Washington state YouthBuild programs and are now working to replicate their success in other states.

YouthBuild is working to help raise the voices of YouthBuild youth and communities this November and beyond, and so can you! Learn more about nonprofit voter engagement.