Youth Venture Minnesota helps teams of young people lead positive change in their communities by launching social ventures (such as AIDS education campaigns, composting cafeterias, skate parks, disaster relief groups, book clubs, tutoring programs, and more).

Let us introduce you to a few of the teams YV MN helped launch:

* Box City Vigil - In 2005, students from Bloomington started the Box City Vigil for Youth Homelessness with support from Youth Venture, the Minnesota Coalition for the Homeless, and Bloomington United for Youth. Box City is an annual all-night vigil on the Minnesota state capital lawn featuring speakers from agencies, legislators, and educators. Throughout the night, students from around the state listen to stories and statistics about homelessness and learn how they can make an impact. Money raised goes to organizations focusing on ending homelessness. Box City Vigil was one of the 15 winning Venture Teams in the Best Buy @15 Challenge with YV in January 2009. The team received $10,000 to expand their Venture.

* Bemidji Skate and Bike Park - The team aims to build a free park for youth in the community in order to promotes an active lifestyle and combat childhood obesity while spreading a positive image of skaters and bikers. The team started with the support of Youth Venture and Burton Snowboards, and quickly earned the approval of the City of Bemidji. They’ve raised over $311,000 so far, including grants from the Tony Hawk Foundation and the George W. Neilson Foundation.

*NAVIGATE - Victor, Maria, Juve, Davis, and Ulises felt that many immigrant high school students were given inaccurate information about attending college. NAVIGATE, which stands for Necessary And Valuable Insight to Gain Access To Education, provides pre-college Latino students with the tools they need to make the college admission/financing process easier. The team recently received $10,000 from The Christian Sharing Fund of the Office for Social Justice at Catholic Charities to continue their work.

* Team Handball - Started by Yare and Jeremiah as part of the 2009 Spring Challenge in Burnsville, Team Handball’s goal is to provide a unique athletic program that anyone can participate in without costly equipment. Team Handball is currently the only youth handball team in the state of Minnesota. Due to the increasing interest, the group recently launched a women’s handball team. Yare was recently named a Youth Venture National Ambassador and they've raised $10,000 in sponsorships so far!

When the Venture team is ready to launch, Youth Venture offers:

* Seed funding of up to $1,000
* Guidance, tools and support
* Allies who provide advice, mentoring and expertise
* A supportive network of fellow Youth Venturers
* Identity as part of movement toward youth-led social change

After the team has launched, Youth Venture works to stay continually involved with the team. Youth Venture also connects Venturers into a fellowship of like-minded young people, helping them see that they are part of something bigger, catalyzing a movement of youth-led social change.

Youth Venture currently operates in 17 countries and online at www.GenV.net.