CHANGE
“Be the change you want to see in the world” ~Gandhi
- What is CHANGE?
- What are CHANGE's goals?
- What are the different roles in CHANGE?
- Who can apply to the CHANGE board?
- How can I become a CHANGE board member?
- What are the expectations for a CHANGE board member?
- Can parents, guardians, and professional partners come to Socials?
- If I am selected to become a CHANGE board member, what do I do next?
- If I am not selected to be a CHANGE board member, can I stay involved?
- Can youth make a difference?
- CHANGE: Words to Know
What is CHANGE?
The Children’s Hospital Advisory Network for Guidance and Empowerment (CHANGE) is a youth led and youth driven initiative that advises youth, families, and professionals about the transition process. It works to ensure successful transition to adult lives for individuals who have faced transitional barriers in healthcare.
What are CHANGE’s goals?
CHANGE supports a community where youth can:
- Claim their voice in order to grow as advocates both in their own lives and communities
- Find support as they transition from adolescent healthcare to adult medicine
- Be empowered to make important and educated decisions in healthcare and other aspects of their life
- Communicate their own experiences with transition to encourage medical providers to embrace and incorporate youth development, advocacy, and empowerment in their practices
- Positively affect the policies, procedures, and processes at Children’s Hospital to better serve the needs of young adults
- Create easily understood resources for a diverse group of youth who struggle with accessing healthcare and having successful transitions
- Be present in the community by hosting educational events for other young people and their support systems
What are the
different roles in CHANGE?
CHANGE Board Member: A young adult, ages 16-28, who has applied and been accepted to the CHANGE board. Board member responsibilities include:
- Planning events according to CHANGE’s mission (i.e. Socials)
- Collaborating with CHANGE staff, other board members, and community partners when developing projects
- Communicating reliably and responding in a timely fashion to all members of the CHANGE team
- Consistently attending CHANGE events
- Creating projects that meet CHANGE’s mission and reaching out to community partners and resources
- Completing a Peak Project that addresses transition or a healthcare related topic that promotes individual and group growth
- Following deadlines and due dates
- Serving as an advocate in different systems (healthcare settings, community agencies, educational environments, etc.)
CHANGE Interns: A young adult, ages 16-28, who has applied for the board and is accepted for a three-month term to explore CHANGE’s mission, activities, and team members at a deeper level. This built in trial period allows interns to decide if CHANGE will help them develop their leadership skills and if they are willing to dedicate time, energy, effort, and creativity to implementing CHANGE’s mission.
Participants: Youth who want to learn more about transition, self-advocacy, healthcare, and leadership who attend CHANGE events and receive useful and educational information distributed by the CHANGE board.
Allies: Community partners and professionals who work with CHANGE board members through targeted mentorship opportunities, support board members through advising educational programming (i.e. Socials), and serve as mentors for Peak Projects. Allies will be supported by the Mentorship Collaborative developed by CHANGE and the LEND Program.
Who can apply to the CHANGE board?
- A young adult who wants to make a difference by developing their own leadership skills and supporting other young adults who have faced healthcare barriers
- A young adult who has experienced barriers in transition to a successful adult life. These barriers may include (but are not limited to): disability, foster care, language barriers, difficulty in obtaining education or employment, being a member of the LGBTQIA community, financial barriers, lack of insurance, etc.
- A young adult between 16-28 years old
- A young adult who lives within driving distance of Pittsburgh and has access to reliable transportation
- A young adult who wants to make change
How can I become a CHANGE board member?
To become a CHANGE board member contact change@chp.edu and you will be invited to attend a CHANGE event. We want you to see for yourself what CHANGE is all about and if you think working with this group will (1) help you learn and (2) give you the opportunity to teach others.
If you apply and are accepted to be a part of CHANGE you will first participate as a CHANGE intern for a three-month trial period. This built in trial period will help you decide if working with CHANGE will develop your leadership skills and give you meaningful opportunities to give back to CHANGE’s community. After three months an intern can become an official CHANGE board member if it is a mutually good fit. After signing a contract and completing a Leadership Profile with CHANGE staff the board member’s term begins.
Expectations for CHANGE Board Members
Fulfilling CHANGE’s mission requires many different types of people working together. Collaborating and team building are important parts of making sure the group is responsible, accountable, inclusive, productive, and fun! We expect board members to attend events, communicate with the CHANGE team, and contribute to the CHANGE mission through projects, presentations, and the sharing of ideas.
Board member objectives:
- Develop a Peak Project that furthers their own learning and is presented at the end of CHANGE’s year to educate the entire board
- Develop and present educational Socials that address important healthcare and transition related topics
- Attend and support Socials that are presented by other CHANGE board members
- Attend Working Board Meetings where board members participate in dialogue circles regarding social justice issues, discuss related current events and their impact on CHANGE’s work, and give feedback regarding policies and procedures at Children’s Hospital
Can parents, guardians, and professional partners come to Socials?
CHANGE is a youth led, youth driven board, which means that parents and guardians are welcome to attend but they will meet in another space. In order to accommodate the learning paths of parents, guardians, and professionals CHANGE Allies will host a parallel informational session during a Social event every quarter. At these sessions our adult partners will have the opportunity to meet and discuss important topics with other guardians and professionals. During Socials without an informational session being led by Allies we encourage guardians and professionals to attend for informal conversations, resource sharing, networking, and community building.
If I am selected to become a CHANGE board member what do I do next?
All board members create a Leadership Profile that guides how they work with the CHANGE team. A new board member will collaborate with the Youth Leadership Coordinator and AmeriCorps Volunteer to write a plan that lists goals, strengths, interests, what the board member wants to improve, and what accommodations help them learn and participate the best that they can. Leadership Profiles help board members pick a Peak Project, develop and present Socials, work with Allies in the Mentorship Collaborative, and become better leaders in everyday life!
Creating a Leadership Profile is the first step in understanding how you can help CHANGE and how CHANGE can help you.
If I am not selected to be a CHANGE board member can I stay involved?
Of course! CHANGE board members are selected based on their experience, commitment to change, and leadership potential. If you are not selected as a board member you are still welcome and encouraged to attend CHANGE events to learn more about youth leadership and transition related issues. We encourage individuals who are interested in CHANGE to apply again after they have more experience. Every day is another opportunity to learn, grow, and make a difference
Can youth make a difference?
Absolutely! It is important that young adults get involved with issues in our society because change takes time, energy, and commitment. Learning how to advocate for change is a critical skill for everyone. We all have the potential to make positive change – young adults are change makers. CHANGE needs the perspectives, experiences, and voices of all types of youth so we can help our diverse community. Things only get better when we take educated action and serve as leaders. CHANGE is all about leadership, education, action, and progress.
“It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.” – e. e. cummings
CHANGE: Words to Know
Stipend: CHANGE board members are awarded stipends to help cover any costs that may impact being a part of CHANGE. For example: using your stipend for transportation to CHANGE events. We value your input and perspective and want to support your voice! Providing stipends helps our board members to fully participate.
CHANGE Intern: A young adult, ages 16-28, who has applied for the board and is accepted for a three-month term to explore CHANGE’s mission, activities, and team members at a deeper level. This built in trial period allows interns to decide if CHANGE will help them develop their leadership skills and if they are willing to dedicate time, energy, effort, and creativity to implementing CHANGE’s mission.
CHANGE Board Member: A young adult, ages 16-28, who has applied and been accepted to the CHANGE board. Board member responsibilities include:
- Planning events according to CHANGE’s mission (i.e. Socials)
- Collaborating with CHANGE staff, other board members, and community partners when developing projects
- Communicating reliably and responding in a timely fashion to all members of the CHANGE team
- Consistently attending CHANGE events
- Creating projects that meet CHANGE’s mission and reaching out to community partners and resources
- Completing a Peak Project that addresses transition or a healthcare related topic that promotes individual and group growth
- Following deadlines and due dates
- Serving as an advocate in different systems (healthcare settings, community agencies, educational environments, etc.)
Allies: Community partners and professionals who work with CHANGE board members through targeted mentorship opportunities, support board members through advising educational programming (i.e. Socials), and serve as mentors for Peak Projects. Allies will be supported by the Mentorship Collaborative developed by CHANGE and the LEND Program.
Peak Project: This self-directed project encourages board members to take initiative and explore an interesting topic that addresses transition or healthcare. Each board member, with the guidance of CHANGE staff, chooses a topic and then creates a plan on how they can learn more. This might mean working with community agencies, attending an event or conference related to the topic, exploring online resources, and working with an assigned Ally who is part of the Mentorship Collaborative. At the end of CHANGE’s year each board member will share what they’ve learned with the entire board. This final project could be a poster, a work of art, a written piece, a PowerPoint presentation, a play, leading a dialogue, etc. Each board member will pick a format that works for their learning style and is the best way to show what they know. Peak Projects help board members learn about themselves, explore an issue of interest that impacts the community, and educate others in an accessible way that supports their unique voice.
Working Board Meetings: CHANGE board members have valuable perspectives regarding how young adults in Pittsburgh access healthcare and overcome transitional barriers. During a Working Board Meeting board members will be presented with a topic and resources that relate to CHANGE’s mission. These topics will include discussing national events that address healthcare, examining transition issues in the Pittsburgh community, exploring social justice issues, and providing feedback regarding policies and procedures at Children’s Hospital, etc. Working Board Meetings will be safe spaces where board members can participate in a respectful, culturally competent, and inclusive dialogue circle.
Leadership Profiles: A Leadership Profile is a document that explores what board members can give CHANGE and how CHANGE can support individual leadership; CHANGE is a partnership. In order to develop leadership skills youth need to establish their own goals and assess the level of help they need, the progress they are making, and how they can improve. The Youth Leadership Coordinator will help board members create Leadership Profiles that list goals, strengths, interests, in what areas the board member wants to improve, and what accommodations help them learn and participate the best that they can. This Leadership Profile helps board members pick a Peak Project, develop and present Socials, work with Allies in the Mentorship Collaborative, and become better leaders in everyday life! This renewable document is reviewed and updated on a yearly basis.
Leadership: CHANGE’s mission is to improve young adult access to healthcare and support youth who encounter transitional barriers as they become adults. CHANGE lives this mission by supporting positive youth development, nurturing youth leadership, and creating effective youth-adult partnerships. CHANGE provides opportunities for board members to develop higher self-esteem, become more self-aware about who they are, what goals they have, and how to achieve those goals, and practice being advocates in their own lives and the community. CHANGE board members become better leaders when they explore how they learn, experience new communities and different perspectives, practice using their own voice and listening to others, and develop problem-solving skills. These transformations are made possible in part by effective youth-adult partnerships in which supportive adults authentically collaborate with youth. Both youth leaders and adult mentors gain valuable skills when they work together. CHANGE creates an environment where board members work collaboratively with Children’s Hospital Staff, community partners, professionals, and Allies.