YAG members, with coordinator Andres Chamorro, learn improv with Hudson River Playback Theatre.

Youth Arts Group members attended the JOINING HANDS (Uniendo Manos) Youth Conference in Lima, Peru in January 2011.

YAG Mission Statement

Rural & Migrant Ministry’s Youth Arts Group (YAG) is a culturally diverse group in which high school-age individuals come together with a determination to create change in our lives and communities.

As members of YAG, we are committed to educating and empowering ourselves and others, developing and practicing our leadership skills, while acting as allies to each other and to those seeking social justice. Through engagement in creative action, we are dedicated to the task of influencing other youth to join in our mission to create political, economic and social changes.

The Youth Arts Group is set to launch the YAG FUND. The YAG FUND is a micro-finance loan program that seeks to strengthen opportunities for rural youth as they seek to engage in higher education and social entrepreneurship.

What do we do?

Continual growth and positive change are a part of being in YAG. This is a responsibility of all members. To get the most out of being in YAG members must participate fully. YAG members must commit to coming to all the Friday night meetings 5:30 - 8:30 plus an extra afternoon or evening meeting during the week, as needed. YAG members must participate in monthly educational trips, actions, and presentations. Members are also encouraged to participate in the Leadership Institutes and YAG internships.

We create CHANGE in our communities. We create ART for social change! MOST IMPORTANT - WE HAVE FUN!

Some accomplishments of the Youth Arts Group

• 97% of YAG members graduate from high school and pursue higher education.
• YAG received a $26,000 grant from the Presbyterian Committee on the Self Development of the People, Presbyterian Church U.S.A for leadership programs.
• Mural: Drawing a Different Future - YAG created an impressive 6’ x 10’ mural on the topics of youth violence, racism, and negative media.
• We created a Spoken Word CD about YAG goals.
• YAG presented three performances about issues from the community using Playback Theater techniques.
• In collaboration with Children’s Media Project, we created an 8-minute educational documentary showing YAG as an active ally to farmworkers in their struggle to obtain Equal Rights.