The Freechild Project, founded in 2001 by Adam Fletcher, has morphed into a significant online resource for not only young people but for anyone intent on learning about the magnitude of youth empowering change...and becoming involved. The Freechild Project is now a program of CommonAction, a national nonprofit organization focused on creating connections between adults and young people by providing a wealth of options to mobilize participation: programs, technical assistance, publications, training, and curriculum. Adam is the Executive Director of CommonAction, which is located in Olympia, Washington.

Besides the more passive information, you can also access the interactive networking via the CommonAction blog, MySpace Profile, or CafePress store. The tools and publications found on both web sites are essential guides to action. They are insightful, succinct in their delivery and wisdom, positive lessons of the road for youth empowerment, development, and involvement.

Best practices and international networks provide a broad context for placing youth-led social change in a worldwide venue. The topics are a smorgasbord of how-tos and a virtual one-stop clearinghouse of information: an excellent platform from which to start a project. You can download many of the publications and have ready-made, handy toolkits for creating, like CommonAction, "uncommon solutions for common problems," which combine the actions of youth and adults in synergistic opportunities of civic engagement.

Freechild Project
CommonAction