Teens With Purpose – Norfolk, VA

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Teens With Purpose

Rationale

Teens with a Purpose – The Youth Movement (TWP) began in 2007 as a non-profit for teens to help other teens. The mission is to create a platform to empower young people to use their voices, energy, creativity, and talents to demonstrate their power to effect personal change and positively impact the lives of others through the arts and humanities, peer-led programs, and special events.

Project Summary

TWP creates a safe, nonjudgmental environment for self-expression and continues to promote healthy life choices. TWP’s programs strive to reduce at-risk behaviors, build healthy relationships, strengthen educational achievement, ignite a desire for personal growth and learning, and foster community engagement.

Initiatives include teen camps facilitated by young adults in the spring and summer with about 150 participants. TWP also works to address violence and promote peace and unity within the community. TWP presented F.U.S.E. Festival, a free community festival sponsored by the City of Norfolk that focuses on peace, unity, spirit, and “edutainment.”

In 2013, TWP collaborated to present a Peace Rally for Trayvon Martin, as a peaceful and positive way for the community to combat violence. After the peace rally, TWP presented workshops and forums to give youth a safe place to ask questions, express their concerns, and provide positive conflict resolution strategies to defuse conflict.

In 2015, TWP is a part of several campaigns to promote youth success including a national campaign called I Want to Live to address the issue of racial profiling with the purpose of shifting negative perceptions of black and brown people. On the local level, TWP is actively engaged in building stronger relationships between the police force and the community through their Redefining Community Campaign.

For more information visit: https://www.twp-themovement.org/

Watch a webinar discussing TWP: https://www.nationalcivicleague.org/videos/creating-spaces-youth-led-initiatives/