The hip hop school taking on Medellin's mean streets

Musical Empowerment provides mentors for children who do not have access to music education in their community. About 160 student-teachers mentor children in instruments like guitar, piano, violin, brass, saxophone, and even voice. The group uses grants and donations to help with technological and internet disparities, as well as provide instruments if needed. Learning music helps young people in many areas of their lives, including self-confidence and self-discipline. Mentors are paired with a mentee based on instrument interest and compatibility, and also experience personal growth from the relationship.

Nas Most uses artistic and cultural initiatives to combat loneliness among seniors. Over seven years, informal weekly meet-ups turned into formal painting and handicraft courses and membership grew from 30 to over 100 seniors. The association also organizes events to exhibit members’ works and partners with other groups to create and share podcasts, organize concerts, and offer other artistic events for seniors. Cultural exchanges with organizations in Ukraine, Poland, Slovakia, and Serbia also help build social connections, which provide physical and mental health benefits for seniors.

After kids spend time in one of New York City's community-based incarceration facilities, they are enrolled in an "aftercare" program, which includes group meetings and mentoring, to help with the transition. As Milwaukee continues to reform its youth prison system, it is looking to New York as one promising model to consider.

Mike Wamaya opened a ballet studio for underprivileged children in Nairobi. Through dance, the children learn a skill, have a means to express often difficult things about their lives, and learn solildarity across tribal lines.

Shirley Apthorp was inspired by Venezuela's El Sistema, a national system that provides impoverished kids access to music education. She wanted to do something similar with opera in South Africa, were the genre was once a privilege enjoyed by white people. So, Apthort created Unculo, an organization that aims to support social change through music.

Growing Change, a rural North Carolina youth organization that focuses on keeping kids out of jail, focuses on flipping prisons to not only revitalize and bring environmentally friendly practices to the community but also offer the kids something to work towards. In its initial pilot, the group saw a 92% success rate with keeping these kids out of jail and employed in the program.

In Baltimore, a non-profit known as the Next One Up program is helping young men who are struggling in school by supporting and advancing their academic, athletic, and social development through small group activities. Although small, the highly-individualized program – which "focuses on students who have attendance issues, have experienced trauma, or need food, clothing, or parental support" – meets every Sunday for class and homework help, followed by a sport of their choice. All who have participated so far have graduated high school on time.

How does one Albuquerque organization address social isolation among senior citizens? It recruits teens to teach technologies 101. Teeniors creates intergenerational relationships by encouraging teens to spend time with seniors and teach them how to adequately use technology like smart phones or computer applications.

A growing trend of documented instances of Islamophobia in schools lead the Islamic Networks Group to create a youth training program that empowers students to speak up in their schools. Built on the idea that many students don't know much about Islam, the program provides fact-checked materials "to stem discrimination and empower students," if faced with anti-Islam rhetoric.

A group in Chicago called Good Kids, Mad City is made up of youth who have been affected by gun violence. They offer support and accountability to each other and use the group as a way to cope with the daily violence they face every day. In addition to the therapeutic benefits of the group, the youth have even lobbied and passed legislation that expunges non-violent marijuana offenses as part of the state’s marijuana legalization proposal.