At YELLS, we believe youth aren’t just the future. They’re leaders today. This past year, the young people of Franklin Gateway and Fair Oaks proved just that, taking their neighborhoods into their own hands and transforming them with creativity, passion, and love. From our youngest K-5th grade changemakers in the YELLS Afterschool Program and Fair Oaks YELLS Youth Program to our powerhouse teens in the Community Action Café, our youth have been busy making sure their community feels connected, celebrated, and inspired.
Our elementary youth began their journey by diving deep into what it means to be a servant leader. They strengthened their voices (literally, through mic checks and projection games!), practiced warm greetings, and wrote thoughtful proposal letters. With every small skill, they were preparing to do big things. After earning their Community Project Planner certificates through our YELLS Project Planning Academy, both Franklin Gateway and Fair Oaks youth first led staff-guided projects that taught them how to turn plants into reality. They marched through their neighborhoods delivering handmade tissue paper flowers, lifting spirits with cheerful chants and heartfelt connections. They then launched a free lemonade stand, setting goals not just for cups served but for smiles sparked. Youth surpassed their target of 35 smiles, ending up with over 100.
But the real magic came when they took the lead themselves. Youth explored their neighborhoods and conducted needs assessments, snapping photos and reflecting on the strengths and areas for growth of their community. Through our Cause Tables event, youth learned from local leaders how everyday passions – like soccer, food, literacy, and art – can be turned into powerful tools for change and community building. Inspired, youth developed and pitched their own project ideas, voted on them as a team, and got to work.
On Franklin Gateway, youth led “Tastebud Temptations,” a pop-up event offering healthy snacks to neighbors in a local apartment complex. Youth managed every detail, testing recipes, crafting their budget, creating flyers, canvassing their community, and even raising over $500 in donations to bring their vision to life. Meanwhile, Fair Oaks youth dreamed up and hosted a joyful Family Carnival in one of their mobile home communities, bringing neighbors together for games, laughter, and connection.
While the elementary youth were building confidence, leadership, and community from the ground up, the teens in the Community Action Café were scaling up their impact. After completing an intensive servant-leadership workshop series and interviewing for positions on youth-led Apprenticeship Teams, the teens set out to strengthen the social fabric of Franklin Gateway. They didn’t just talk about change – they practiced it. They organized a Trunk or Treat event, hosted a Police Town Hall, and volunteered at local events to sharpen their skills and understand what makes a project succeed.
To expand their networks and gather inspiration, the teens embarked on a Community Caravan, visiting Mayor Tumlin, City of Marietta Council Members Richardson and Goldstein, City of Marietta Manager Bruton, Cobb Chairwoman Cupid, Marietta Police Department Chief Beam, and local nonprofits like Cobb Collaborative, the Cobb Chamber, and United Way. They asked hard questions, listened deeply, and brought back ideas and partnerships to power their own initiatives. Teens then created a dynamic calendar of events, leading a Family Game Night, hosting financial literacy workshops, and launching a lively “Taste Fest” that spotlighted Franklin Gateway’s diverse local restaurants and brought neighbors together to celebrate their shared community.
Through every project, every handshake, every smile, every flyer, and every event, YELLS youth are becoming the leaders who will continue to transform Franklin Gateway and Fair Oaks from within. These young community builders have witnessed their own power to shape the world around them. They’ve learned how to turn an idea into action, how to use their voice to uplift others, and how to dream big while staying rooted in the needs of their neighbors. This is what YELLS is all about: empowering youth to lead, to serve, and to shape the future they want to see – starting right here, right now. Together, they are creating a ripple effect of connection, joy, belonging, and hope across Franklin Gateway and Fair Oaks, proving that when youth rise, communities rise with them.
