In Rochester, 200 youth and adults came out in the rain on June 13 for a Peace & Justice March, organized by Teen Empowerment. See coverage in the Democrat & Chronicle.

The Boston Youth Peace Conference, our 21st annual, brought 550 people to the Strand Theatre on May 11. "True Stories for One Glory" showcased a number of issues facing urban youth through drama, dance, poetry, rap and song. Following the show, eight candidates for mayor addressed the question, "What can we do to help heal our community." We are grateful to the candidates who shared their thoughts with us! Read about it in the Boston Globe. Meet some of the youth organizers who worked on the event in this 3-minute video about one TE site in Roxbury.

Thanks to the 500 Rochester people who came to the Riverside Convention Center on May 2 to celebrate Teen Empowerment's 10 years in Roc City! Read about it: "Reclaiming our youth a must-do in Rochester." The Democrat & Chronicle did a great preview with video, then gave TE a Thumbs Up after the event! If you're inspired to make a donation to support our work in Rochester, Click here.

UMass Boston has just released a comprehensive evaluation of Teen Empowerment's program in Somerville, MA, that concludes: "Teen Empowerment has succeeded in developing and maintaining an approach to engaging at-risk youth and reducing youth violence that can serve as a model for other communities. Its systematic approach to selection, engagement, and transformation provide the foundation for individual achievement and community change."

April was Peace Month in Somerville! See what Mayor Joe Curtatone says about TE and Peace Month. Get more info about Peace Month events on our Somerville page.

Many thanks to everyone who supported Teen Empowerment's Celebration of Hope and Caring, honoring Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, on March 7. See our Hallelujah Menino video! At the event, Chancellor Keith Motley of the University of Massachusetts Boston announced the Youth and Community Transformation Project, an important initiative aimed at lowering levels of crime and youth violence in some of Boston's toughest communities. "Chancellor Motley Announces Partnership with Teen Empowerment, City of Boston."

It's a milestone year for Teen Empowerment: We are 20 years old! Read about our executive director and TE's 20 year history in this Boston Globe column: "Teen Empowerment chasing a miracle in Boston".

Check out some great videos of TE youth and TE events at TeenEmpowermentTV on YouTube.

Teen Empowerment has produced a 25-minute DVD entitled Voices from Behind the Wall, featuring messages to youth from prison inmates in Massachusetts. We also have a curriculum and discussion guide to accompany the DVD. Click here to check out the DVD and the guide on YouTube. Order online. Here's an article about the "Voices" DVD (with video excerpts) from the Boston Globe: Prison counsel.

TE has 10 short videos posted on YouTube that illustrate how we work interactively to engage groups of youth and adults. See exercises in action  from our book, Moving Beyond Icebreakers! Concentric Circles, Make It Up: Paper Chase, Wordstorm, Evaluation, The Human Knot, Name Wave, Warm-up Questions, Bag Toss, Zip Zap Zup with Foot-Stamp, and Wind Blows with Word.

Be a Friend of TE! To learn more about the Friends of Teen Empowerment, contact us.

Download TE's publication, Voices of Children Left Behind in Massachusetts Public Schools.