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| An ADL Youth Mission Turns Ten
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Maybelle, a teenager from Chicago, never expected her trip to Washington, D.C., as a delegate to the 10th Annual Grosfeld Family National Youth Leadership Mission (NYLM) to have such a lasting impact. "This experience has opened my eyes," she said. "I will stand up and speak out when people say something inappropriate."
This year's mission was attended by more than 110 racially and ethnically diverse high school students from Arizona, Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, Florida, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New Orleans, New York, St. Louis and Washington, D.C. A centerpiece of the four-day trip was a tour of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM), where students learned about the history of the Holocaust, the consequences of hateful words and the responsibility everyone has to confront hatred in their everyday lives.
"This program enables high school students from across the country to bear witness to the unspeakable atrocities of the Holocaust, and to learn how they can apply the moral and ethical issues raised by those dark days to their own lives in terms of standing up to racism, bigotry and hate," said ADL National Director Abraham H. Foxman.
Over the past 10 years, more than 1,000 students have participated in the NYLM. It was created as a regional education program in 1996 by the Greater Chicago/Upper Midwest Regional Office, then expanded to the national level in 1998. This year's mission, which took place from Nov. 11 - 14, 2007, was organized by staff from the Chicago Regional Office and the Braun Holocaust Institute; funders included the Grosfeld Family Foundation and local supporters in various regions.
Delegates this year heard firsthand accounts of courage in the face of extreme bigotry from speakers including an African-American World War II veteran who helped liberate the concentration camps, and from a Holocaust survivor who was shot trying to escape a slave labor camp at the age of 16, then sent to Auschwitz. Breakout sessions used ADL's A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE® Institute activities to help students develop strategies for combating bias and prejudice in their homes, schools and communities. Upon returning home, participants were expected to share their insights with families, classmates and other community members.
They also submitted written reflections on the program for publication in the National Youth Leadership Mission Anthology, a booklet of each trip that is given to delegates, donors and participating regional offices across the country. Three delegates to this year's mission wrote:
"Being part of the Youth Mission was an absolute honor and privilege. I know that from the mission, I have learned valuable lessons and made very special connections. I will never forget what happened here."
-- Stephen, Washington, D.C.
"As a Youth Mission delegate, I am responsible for educating not only this generation, but the ones before me and the ones still come."
-- Angela, Arizona
"Being part of the Youth Mission means that I have a chance to educate others…a chance to make a difference...a chance for a better tomorrow."
-- Zia, St. Louis
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