Youth Development
Kansas City youth development programs provide safe activities and meaningful internship opportunities for young people most impacted by community violence. These programs connect young people with mentorship, education, and engaging, neighborhood-based activities, fostering opportunity and preventing harm—especially for students at risk of becoming disconnected from school.
Investing in Kansas City’s Young People
Kansas City’s youth development programs focus on preventing violence by supporting young people during critical life stages. These initiatives prioritize fostering safe spaces, trusted relationships, and creating meaningful opportunities to help youth build confidence and skills along with a sense of belonging.
Through paid internships, mentorship programs, and safe community programs, participants gain real‑world skills and leadership opportunities while contributing positively to their neighborhoods. Each program is designed to meet youth where they are and respond to the unique daily realities they face.
By investing early and consistently, youth development has proven to be a powerful strategy for long‑term violence reduction strengthening youths, families, and entire communities.
Youth 360
We believe a more peaceful Kansas City is achieved when we listen to, learn from, and lift up our next generation. Youth voice is essential to reducing violence. Founded in 2025, Youth 360 is a board of youth advisors to KC 360 who share their experiences and identify solutions that end street violence. A group of youth apply, interview, and are selected to participate in a year-long cohort. Youth 360 advisors, 14 to 19-year-olds, are passionate about creating safer schools and neighborhoods.
Working for Youth
Investing in young people expands access to education, strengthens the future workforce, and promotes greater equity across the region—especially for youth who are disconnected or at risk of disengaging from school. As part of its mission, KC Common Good focuses on creating paid, real‑world learning opportunities that help young people build skills, confidence, and pathways to long‑term success while contributing to a more inclusive regional economy.
In 2021, KC Common Good launched Working for Youth, which connects high-school-aged young people with paid summer internships and work-based projects. In the first year, 427 young people were placed with 89 employers, resulting in more than 25% of participants being interviewed or hired following the program. Building on this success, KC Common Good partnered with ProX, a summer program supported by the Kauffman Foundation and the DeBruce Foundation that provides professional experiences to youth. Since the program’s founding, more than 3000 young people have completed paid internships with hundreds of Kansas City-area employers. Beyond earning a stipend, participants receive weekly professional development and financial training to support both immediate and long-term success.
Are you a student interested in applying for an internship or an employer hoping to support our work?
Summer Youth Programming
Throughout the summer of 2025, Guadalupe Centers of Kansas City and Youth Ambassadors hosted a Saturday evening safe space, serving approximately 200 young people.
By giving young people access to their caring staff and excellent facilities, the organizations created a reliable way for Kansas City youth to engage in positive, pro‑social activities on weekend evenings while school was out that created safe fun with a sense of connection and belonging. Activities rotated weekly and included sports, video games, water balloon competitions, karaoke, arts and crafts, and DJ‑led events. Each weekend, attendees had the freedom to socialize and have fun in a supervised, supportive environment.
We support local organizations like Guadalupe Centers, a long‑standing community institution serving more than 20,000 individuals annually, and Youth Ambassadors, an educational employment program that has empowered over 1,400 young people since 2021 to develop soft job skills and gain the leadership experience that will help them to work for positive change in their communities.
Engagement in Action
Explore the KC Common Good blog to learn more about youth engagement efforts across the region, including stories from summer programming and community partners.
“What we’re trying to do is really surround young people with protective factors that decrease the likelihood that they will become victims or perpetrators of violence. We provide opportunities for young people to have their voices and their experiences validated.”
Dr. Monique Johnston, Executive Director, Youth Ambassadors