A Year-Long Campaign to Mobilize and Empower Thousands of Youths Across Long Island to Create Lasting Change in their Communities.

 

Lift Up Long Island (LULI) is a campaign designed to bring together students from a diverse group of schools from across Long Island to develop their own entrepreneurial solutions to local needs and to launch lasting, community-impacting ventures. LULI is hosting 250+ students (grades 4-12) and teachers in a series of three full-day workshops over the next year to facilitate their social ventures and to instill a culture of youth-led civic engagement across Long Island. 

"We feel that this program would be tremendously beneficial for our students and community.  Any initiative that raises the level of social and civic consciousness of students is worthy of consideration," commented Cheryl Pedisich, Superintendent, Three Village School District. 

The Lift Up Long Island kickoff event was held in honor of the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Sandy featuring keynote addresses by Two-time Olympic Gold Medalist Julie Foudy and United Way of Long Island CEO Theresa Regnante. Local experts such as the Long Island Coalition for the Homeless and Cradle of Aviation Museum were also on hand to work with the students to analyze local issues and design solutions. LULI will follow the student-led ventures over the year and plans to celebrate their impact one year later at the second annual Lift Up Long Island in October, 2014. Through this experiential learning process, LULI intends to cultivate greater civic engagement and enhance entrepreneurial and leadership skills in Long Island's youth. 

LULI has partnered with Ashoka's Youth Venture, which, since 1996, has launched 10,000 youth-led civic ventures globally impacting millions of lives across over 30 countries. Lift Up Long Island's goal is to engage over 5,000 young Long Island student change-makers launching over 250 sustainable, community-minded ventures by 2015.