May 7, 2008

In March, the Case Foundation (Case) selected JLC’S new project, Juveniles 4 Justice, as one of 20 projects chosen from over 4,600 applications to receive a $10,000 Make It Your Own Award. Case created the award to promote innovative ideas that lay the ground work for long term social change. Case then had an on-line vote to determine which “final four” projects would receive an additional $25,000. The results were posted this week: Juveniles 4 Justice made it to the final four, bringing our total award to $35,000! Juveniles 4 Justice received almost 5,600 votes. Our heartfelt thanks go to all who voted on-line and spread the word!

Our Juveniles 4 Justice project is designed to give youth from the juvenile justice system a chance to speak out and become advocates for positive change in their own communities. JLC Staff Attorney Jessica Feierman, who conceived the project, will convene a group of 10-20 young people who will meet weekly to learn about community organizing and policy advocacy, and then meet with agencies, lawmakers and the media to push for social change. The youths themselves will choose the issues we work on. It could be anything from improving schools to juvenile justice reform to better health care.

Read about the four finalists.