The mission of the Spark Change Project is to center girls as leaders in advocacy — helping them discover their activist voices and inspire their peers to pursue their own passions for positive social change.

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This is a gender-diverse event open to all girls and non-binary participants.

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The Spark Change Project (SCP) empowers, inspires, and trains the next generation of young activists. The Excellence Project launched this program in 2021 and has since run two successful cohorts. SCP centers a small group of girls as leaders who gain part-time work experience, develop their own activist voices, and mobilize a wider network of peers to build a policy agenda through a dedicated Spark Change Day of advocacy.

 

Spark Change Day is our annual advocacy event, inspiring students in grades 6-12 to become civically engaged and helping them develop their own voice to advocate for themselves and their community. The event includes training on the power of advocacy, an overview of the legislative process, activities exploring issues young people face, and the chance to hear directly from local and national policymakers. Spark Change Day is held each spring at the Texas State Capitol.

 

 

As part of this project, we've hired six high school-age mentors to work as Ambassadors. Six months prior to the program, our Ambassadors work alongside Spark Change Project staff to plan and lead events educating younger students on critical social justice issues, advocacy, activism, and community organizing.

 

Participants will engage with inspiring community leaders, take part in leadership and community-engagement activities, and apply their new skills to real service-learning projects across Austin. By the end of camp, participants will have found their activist voice to advocate for justice in their own communities. Participants earn 40 hours of community service, and the program wraps up with a celebration day.