Project Number One

Ladies and gentlemen, I am proud to announce that I have conversed with part of the team and we have our first project idea! While we are still going to have our first meeting very soon, this project is super easy to start off and contribute virtually.

But first an update: Have you seen any of our signs downtown? We're hoping they're catching people's eyes, and we have gotten a few more fans on Facebook! We are super thankful to Rainbow Youth for helping hand out flyers at Capitol Pride last Saturday. Currently we are discussing where to hold the first meeting. Suggestions have been parks and coffee shops. We need your input on everything, don't be shy!

The project:

This will be an on-going project for, hopefully quite some time. Everyone is encouraged to participate in order to start getting involved in the spirit of the organization. What will happen is everyone is going to think, long and hard, about a topic that is very important to them, be it gay rights, racial discrimination,  domestic violence, campaigning for Obama 2012, etc., and we will each create a plan of action as to how we would go about getting the word out, and making a difference.

We will then create an ever-expanding book showing each project and each project's progress. We will pull out examples for our presentations (which will happen shortly after our first meeting), and we will all work individually and in unity.

Everyone can pitch in on anyone's project, dual projects are acceptable, and eventually the projects that have brilliant potential can become one of our group's main group projects.

What to do now: Start drafting, post all of your updates and ideas and brainstorms on our facebook page, send them to the email for feedback, or post them to this blog. It doesn't have to be well thought out yet, you can even post lists of possibilities. We just ask, please, participate and spread the word.

Thanks for all of the support thus far,
Sydney Agee

What You Can Do Now

So you're interested in what could potentially happen with this organization? Perfect. In this stage, while there are still MANY kinks being worked out, the most important thing that we need is opinions and ideas.

I've talked to many people already, and there have been suggestions of different lingering oppressions that we could work on getting rid of. One of the suggestions was about same-sex couples not being allowed to attend High School dances. We've always heard talk of this, and we always oppose it, but this suggestion is one of the many things we need to stand up against.

While SYFC is by no means limited to LGBT rights, there are always the options of grander things such as gay marriage in Oregon. We can absolutely start out small with this, but in the grand scheme of things, I don't care how cliche it sounds, this organization is to make a difference.

More options are undocumented citizen's right to college, ending racism in Salem, ending gender discrimination projects, etc. So what I need everyone to do now is pitch in your ideas; where would you like to see SYFC go?

Currently I am working on a presentation, and I need volunteers to help with all parts. Today on Facebook I asked whether or not one would come to a sort of... kick off meeting. If you have Facebook, reply! If you do not, reply here or email us at SalemYouthForChange@Gmail.com

Thanks,
Sydney Agee

The Idea

This idea had been floating around my head for quite some time. Salem Oregon, as I am sure you all know, tends to be a very conservative town. There are different organizations like Culture Shock and Rainbow Youth that have their adding benefits. Salem Youth For Change (SYFC), however, is going to be much different.

In March of this year, I did tech work for Pentacle Theatre's production of RENT. I remember the director telling me he wasn't sure how it was going to take off, because of the ignorance in this town. However, it turned out to be one of the most moving Pentacle Productions in a long time. It had a great following, and all of the participants and viewers were absolutely wonderful. That was the first physical piece of proof to me that there was potential in being radical in such a small town.

The Objective:

What I hope to see happen with SYFC is a Democracy, developed by the teens and young adults of Salem. Activism for topics like gender/race discrimination, gay rights, importance of education, possibly environmentalism, and anything YOU want to see happen.

I whole-heartedly want this to be a democracy. I want to hear your opinions. I want to get you riled up to do grand things.

Join our emailing list, SalemYouthForChange@gmail.com
And "Like" our Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Salem-Youth-For-Change/194264657302063

Thanks for the support, spread the word!
-Sydney Agee