Our Story

TrustYouth began as an idea from Scott Ganske, Vice President of Education at Youth Service America, after years of working alongside young people, educators, researchers, and community leaders across the United States and around the world. It began with a simple but often overlooked question:Do adults trust young people?As the idea evolved, Scott partnered with Karen Pittman and Merita Irby, whose leadership helped connect TrustYouth with the Alliance for Youth Thriving. Together, they invited youth and adults across their networks to help shape the idea, and more than 300 people responded within the first 18 hours.Today, TrustYouth is an initiative of the Alliance for Youth Thriving. A subgroup of Alliance National Partners and other collaborators is helping shape the initiative alongside youth and adults from across the United States and around the world.Together, we're exploring how trust shapes opportunity, influence, leadership, and thriving—especially for young people whose voices are too often overlooked or underestimated.We're learning, testing ideas, and building practical tools that help schools, organizations, and communities create more opportunities for young people to contribute, influence decisions, and lead.Explore the ideas behind TrustYouth:• We Keep Asking Young People to Trust Us. But How Much Do We Really Trust Them?• Trust-Based Changemaking May Change the World. But Can It Change Institutions?

The Trust Gap

Young people are often invited to participate.They are less often invited to influence decisions.They are asked for feedback.They are less often trusted with real influence.They are encouraged to lead.But leadership requires opportunity.We call this the Trust Gap.Trust shapes opportunity.And opportunity shapes leadership.

How it Works

TrustYouth begins with a simple invitation.Take a moment to think about one place in your life, whether you're a young person or an adult, where trust matters. Where are young people truly trusted? Where are opportunities still missing?As you reflect, think about these six ideas:♦ Inform: Are youth given clear information?
♦ Invite: Are all youth invited to share their ideas and experiences?
♦ Influence: Do their ideas shape decisions and priorities?
♦ Implement: Do youth help lead and carry out initiatives?
♦ Improve: Do youth and adults reflect, learn, and improve together?
♦ Inspire: Are young people inspiring others through their leadership?There are no right or wrong answers. TrustYouth is about helping youth and adults start better conversations, learn from one another, and identify practical next steps together. As TrustYouth grows, these conversations will help shape the tools, stories, and learning experiences we build together.

What Are Youth and Adults Saying?

More than 300 youth and adults have already joined TrustYouth.They represent schools, nonprofits, universities, youth-led organizations, philanthropy, and communities across the United States and around the world.While every story is different, a common theme continues to emerge:Young people are often invited to participate. They're less often trusted to influence decisions.These voices are helping shape the next generation of TrustYouth tools, conversations, and learning experiences.

Help Shape TrustYouth

TrustYouth is being built with young people and adults, not for them.Most conversations focus on whether young people trust adults.TrustYouth explores a different question:Do adults trust young people?We're building a growing community of young people and adults who want to explore how trust shapes opportunity, influence, and leadership.Some people will simply stay connected and follow the work. Others may choose to try the reflection, share ideas, test new tools, or explore TrustYouth in their schools, organizations, and communities.There is no major time commitment. We're simply looking for people who believe trust matters and want to help shape what comes next.

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