Sign up here to apply to be part of the Youth Connect in 2026 - 27 school year!
All high school students from Santa Clara or San Mateo Counties are welcome. Register here to join Peer Leadership Track 1, Peer Leadership Track 2, or YCS Advocates.
If you are deciding which track to join, please take this survey.
See a summary of the tracks below:
PEER LEADERS - Track 1
Description: Collaborate with a group of 5-6 students with a shared interest area - e.g. the environment, mental health, public health, LGBTQ rights, racial justice, language access, etc. As a group, you will develop and plan two service projects: one in the fall, one in the spring. Past projects include voter outreach guides for local elections, nutrition workshops for elementary-aged students, a queer fashion show and clothing swap, suicide prevention workshops, and more. At the in-person meetings, you will spend time getting to know and collaborating with other peer leader groups.
Commitments:
- Meet in person at the YCS office (3990 Ventura Ct Palo Alto) twice per month on Thursdays.
- Meet virtually twice per month on a weeknight that works for your group.
- Collaborate to plan, promote, and carry out one service project per semester.
PEER LEADERS - Track 2
Description: Peer Leader Track 2 members support service projects planned by Youth Connect Peer Leaders. At monthly in person meetings, PL2s members will sign up for tasks that are most interesting to them, earning a minimum of 1 service hour at the meeting. You may also choose to complete additional work on the service project outside of meeting time, up to 4 hours/month. Tasks might include research, printing and preparing brochures, hanging fliers, creating social media posts, and more. PL2s will also pick one youth-led project each semester to support in person. For example, if Peer Leaders have planned six different events for December, you will choose at least one event to attend in person.
Commitment:
- Attend in person meetings once per month on a Thursday at the YCS office in Palo Alto (3990 Ventura Ct Palo Alto CA).
- Attend at least one youth-led project per semester in person
- OPTIONAL: Earn service hours by completing work for youth-led service projects outside of meeting times, up to 4 hours/month.
ADVOCATES (ONLY AVAILABLE AT PALY AND EPAA)
Description: Meet weekly on campus at your school's Wellness Center or equivalent to plan and lead 4 wellness-related projects over the course of the year. ONLY AVAILABLE AT PALO ALTO HIGH SCHOOL AND EAST PALO ALTO ACADEMY. Past projects have included Valentine's Day candy grams with wellness information attached, a hot coco exchange before finals, a Henna mindfulness activity, providing plants for classrooms, and more.
Commitments:
- Meet weekly at lunch in your school's Wellness Center - day TBD, decided by the group.
- Plan a minimum of four wellness- or mental health-focused service projects for your school campus.
