Mayor's Office-Neighborhood City Halls Administration

Detroit Youth Foundation produce Leaders for the Future

Mar 01, 2004

KYDS (Kids and Youth Development Seminars) is an 18 month program operated by DYF (Detroit Youth Foundation) and comprised of monthly workshops and meetings that focus on building leadership skills, understanding issues and strategies that impact youth, and identifying resources that can be used to improve the community youth.

Two retreats were held this year for adults and youth that focused on developing leadership and team building. One was an overnight retreat held in Lake Orion, Michigan for youth and the other was a retreat in East Lansing.

Another aspect of the program was monthly meetings. During these meetings, participants explored thought-provoking topics which included positive youth development and grassroots advocacy. The meetings were held at the St. Regis Hotel and Second Ebenezer Baptist Church.

During these meetings, young people got a chance to sharpen their skills in special workshops that provided information on peer pressure and conflict resolution. They also had the benefit of learning how to prepare for and seek summer employment. Roderick Arnold, Sandy Clarke, and Robert Thornton worked extensively with this aspect of the program.

Travel seminars have always been an important aspect of the program because the hope is that participants will be motivated to support creative programing for youth. A total of five travel seminars were conducted in order to observe and learn from youth programs around the country. The cities visited during the program included the following: Atlanta, San Francisco, Chicago, Cleveland, Baltimore and Washington D.C.

You can be a KYDS VI Participant. If you are interested in participating in the KYDS program, recruitment for the KYDS VI program is taking place now. Interested adults and youth can contact the office @ (313) 875-3400 for current application and/or further information. Applications may also be picked up directly from the Detroit Youth Foundation's office, Monday - Friday, 9:00 a.m. - 4:45 p.m., located in the Fisher Building, 311 West Grand Boulevard, Detroit, MI, Suite 206.