About the Vote16MO Youth Advocacy Training Program:

We are excited to announce our new program to train youth advocates across the state. Our new Advocacy Training program is meant to engage youth from across the state of Missouri to learn about how to thrive as a youth advocate in their community. 

The training includes: ​​

1. Mastering the Media (Media Training)

   • A guide to working with reporters;​

   • Preparing for and conducting media interviews;

   • Crafting your key messages; 

   • Writing for the Media (writing Op-Eds, LTEs, blogs, and more);

   • Engaging the media (including how to write press releases and media advisories);

   • And so much more!​

2. ​ Influencing Decision Makers (Advocacy/Lobbying Training)

   • ​Meeting with decision-makers;​​

   • Conducting a successful meeting with a decision-maker;

   • The legislative process of state and local government; ​

   • Effective policy-making & evaluation; 

   • And so much more!

3.  Activating for Action (Action Planning)

   •  SMART Goal planning; 

   • Short and Long Term goal planning; 

   • Evaluating Impacts; 

   • Teaching others what you know;

   • And so much more!

4. Saying engaged with Vote16MO or paving your own journey in advocacy

Youth advocates who participate in our advocacy training are NOT required to continue to be engaged with or have prior engagement with the Vote16MO Campaign. All of the curriculum and content of the Vote16MO Youth Advocacy Training sessions are not exclusive to Vote16MO operations or the initiative itself. Youth civic engagement, in or out of the Vote16MO initiative, is part of the foundation of this campaign. This means that this effort is not simply at the direct benefit of the Campaign, but also at the benefit of promoting youth civic engagement. All youth advocates will be provided with information relating to the Vote16MO initiative along with opportunities to stay engaged, but it is not required. ​

With the information provided, youth advocates may choose to advocate alongside Vote16MO or to begin (or continue) their journey in advocacy-- or do both!

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Initial Rollout

Vote16MO is partnering with various community organizations to bring these trainings to your community. The Vote16MO Youth Advocacy Training sessions will initially be launched in three separate locations across the state of Missouri. Those being:  Kansas City, Columbia, and St. Louis. Any youth living within a 30-minute radius of these cities may apply, special exceptions can be considered by emailing info@vote16mo.org. As of current, dates for these training sessions have not yet been released. Up to 30 youth with high potential and interest in civic engagement will be accepted to join us per training session. 

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Sponsorship

In order to make the most out of these sessions, we need help from sponsors who share our passion for civic engagement education and youth advocacy. We need sponsors to help us fund the key aspects that are necessary to conduct a successful training session. These are: 1) Food & Beverage 2) Venue 3) Materials (including the resource guidebook) 4) Transportation 5) Stipends. As a sponsor, you can choose to sponsor up to any amount of money or resources that is commensurate with your organization’s capacity.

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Click here to view a pdf that outlines recommended sponsorship levels.

Click here to view a pdf that outlines key expenses.

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If you are interested in becoming a sponsor, please email dj@vote16mo.org or click the arrow:

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COMMUNITY PARTNERS

Community partners to help us conduct the outreach within their community and help us find the best youth advocates to offer this opportunity to. As a sponsor, you can choose to sponsor up to any amount of money or resources that is commensurate with your organization’s capacity. As a community partner, you’re joining in as a co-host of the training session, in which you are investing more time into the setup, planning, and recruitment of the event. 

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If you are interested in becoming a community partner in Kansas City, Columbia, or St. Louis, please email dj@vote16mo.org or click the arrow below.