YOUTH FIRST FRAMEWORK: PUT YOUNG PEOPLE FIRST

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The Youth First Framework is inspired by the Fans First philosophy developed by Fans First Entertainment and the Savannah Bananas.

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They challenged the traditional way of thinking about sports by asking a simple question: What if we built the experience around the people we serve?

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At Concrete LYFE, we asked ourselves the same question:

What if we built youth development around young people?

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Youth First means creating experiences young people want to be part of, listening to what they have to say, removing barriers that get in their way, and giving them opportunities to shape the work alongside us.

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We took the spirit of Fans First and made it our own.

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FROM FANS FIRST TO YOUTH FIRST

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01 PUT PEOPLE FIRST → PUT YOUNG PEOPLE FIRST

• Fans First starts with the people in the stands.

• Youth First starts with the young person.

• We design our programs, experiences, and opportunities around the young people we serve. We listen to their experiences, interests, goals, and ideas and use what we learn to shape what we do.

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02 MAKE IT FUN → MAKE IT SOMETHING YOUNG PEOPLE WANT

• Learning and development do not have to feel like another requirement.

• We create experiences that are creative, engaging, relevant, and connected to real LYFE. We want young people to look forward to participating, bring their friends, and feel like Concrete LYFE is a place they belong.​

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03 CREATE CONNECTION → BUILD RELATIONSHIPS

• People remember how an experience makes them feel and who they experienced it with.

• We create opportunities for young people to build relationships with peers, mentors, professionals, community members, and trusted adults.

• Connection builds trust. Trust creates opportunity.

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04 GIVE PEOPLE A VOICE → GIVE YOUNG PEOPLE A VOICE 

• Young people should not just be asked to participate.

• They should have a say.

• Through our Youth Advisory Board, feedback, conversations, and ongoing engagement, young people help shape our programs, experiences, and priorities.

• We listen, and then we act on what we hear.

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05 KEEP IMPROVING → LISTEN, LEARN, AND ADAPT 

• Putting people first means being willing to change.

• We use youth feedback, data, evaluation, and what we learn through our programs to understand what is working and what is not.

• Then we make it better.

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We do not believe we have to get everything right the first time.

We believe we have to keep listening and keep improving.

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WHAT YOUTH FIRST MEANS AT CONCRETE LYFE

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Youth First is more than a set of principles. It is how we approach the entire LYFE Academy experience. We want young people to move from participation to belonging, from learning to action, and from being supported to becoming leaders and contributors.

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WORK WITH US: INFO@CONCRETELYFE.ORG

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Organizations can work with Concrete LYFE to learn, implement, and evaluate the Youth First Framework.

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Whether you are developing a new youth program, strengthening an existing one, training your staff, or looking for a new way to measure youth-centered practice, we can help you put Youth First into action.

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• LEARN THE FRAMEWORK.

• BUILD THE PRACTICE.

• MEASURE THE IMPACT.

• PUT YOUNG PEOPLE FIRST​