• Overview
• Become a Volunteer
• Contact Us

Youth receive first-hand experience working in an office setting and often work on youth-driven advocacy campaigns, such as the Disability History Week Campaign and Taking Action for Accommodations. The YO! Volunteer Corps create connections for youth with adults with disabilities, as well as other youth volunteers. YO! Volunteer Corps members earn a stipend every month.

Meet a YO! Volunteer…

Hey, what's up guys, gals, and non-binary pals! My name is Maya, I'm 22 years old from Riverside, CA. I'm a recent graduate from UC Merced with a B.A. in Psychology and minor in Writing. I became interested in disability advocacy after attending the California Youth Leadership Forum (YLF) in 2015 as a delegate. Since then, I've gone back as staff for the past three years. Being back home and having more time on my hands, I finally took it upon myself to become a YO! Volunteer. I look forward to working with youth with disabilities through my local ILC and hope to gain experience that will help me to reach my ultimate career goal of being a school psychologist.

Youth Volunteer Corps Maya Community Access Center – Riverside, CA

Youth Advisory Council

The YO! YAC is made up of 7 - 9 youth with disabilities across the state ranging in age from 16 - 28 that are familiar with the YO! program and want to use their leadership skills to make it even better. The YO! YAC provides valuable input on policy issues, community organizing campaigns and program priorities. They met at least once a quarter by phone or webinar and occasionally in-person. Youth are are interested are encouraged to apply.

Alexa

Armand

Sara

Alise

Ian

Tiffany

Priscilla

Youth Volunteer Corps

The YO! Volunteer Corps consist of 9 youth volunteers who work in local independent living centers in their community. YO! Volunteer Corps commit to at least 16 hours of work a month and receive a $100 stipend each month. Volunteer Corps members work for a minimum of 6-12 months at their placement site. Volunteer Corps members work on a variety of tasks, including YO! Organizing campaigns, in their local communities.

Youth can apply at any time to be a YO! Volunteer Corps member. However, placements are limited to funding and site availability.

Amanda

Harmony

Jordan

Shea

Tony

Nicole

Kameron

Maya

Travis

Mike

Kathleen

Nathan

Youth Action Team

Youth are encouraged to volunteer for a YO! organizing campaign, working in their local communities. There is no time commitment and the amount of time spent on campaigns varies for each organizer. Campaign organizers do not receive a stipend. Meetings for each campaign are held by teleconference in afternoons or on weekends. These provide a chance to connect with youth from around the state! Each participant can do as little or as much as they want to support a YO! campaign, but everyone is involved in advancing the campaign in some way.

Currently, we have nearly 30 organizers working on the Taking Action for Accommodations campaign and 25 working on the Disability History Week campaign.

If you are interested in working on a campaign, please contact a youth advocate.