Youth Empowerment

Rural & Migrant Ministry has been on the cutting edge of offering creative and effective programs that support young, emerging leaders in rural New York for more than 35 years. Each of our youth programs has been created and carried forth by young leaders. In turn, the programs form a network across New York that helps members connect to each other, resources, allies and opportunities. The programs are unique, and in some cases nationally recognized. More importantly, they assist young people as they develop the skills and understanding to build their power and work for change.

This is essential as they face the challenges of living in rural New York. Our young leaders are overcoming immense obstacles. In addition to many of the traditional barriers of racism, adultism and poverty, many are first-generation immigrants, and face language and cultural barriers. Often, their parents are unfamiliar with the political and education systems, and that, combined with language barriers, makes it difficult for them to be advocates for their children within these systems. There are also the realities of living in rural New York State, where there are few resources, little public transportation and a deep isolation.

What’s at Stake: Rural youth face numerous and significant obstacles, including isolation, poverty, family hardships and discrimination. Without advocacy, resources and opportunities, these obstacles can become insurmountable.

Why It Matters: In order to grow into their destinies as thriving adults, youth must first develop and hone leadership skills that will carry them forward. By learning to advocate for themselves and others, they become change agents for entire communities

Youth Empowerment Program Practices

Programs

YAG Exhibition: Our Radical Art

RMM’s Youth Arts Group (YAG) had an art exhibition — Our Radical Art — in the lobby of the Newburgh Free Library throughout the month of February 2026. They hosted an opening reception, where members of YAG discussed their work. Their art pieces speak volumes about the impact of our government’s policies on our children,…
Read more: YAG Exhibition: Our Radical Art
Reconnecting with RMM Ally Jen Chapin

Summer 2025 At the intersection of artistry, humanity and the driving beat of justice lies the heart of Jen Chapin. As an educator, lifelong activist, and daughter of the late folk legend Harry Chapin, her unique brand of folk-and-jazz fusion is informed by a deep tradition of musical storytelling — and her main source of…
Read more: Reconnecting with RMM Ally Jen Chapin
Spark Summer Day Program Featured on WJFF-Radio Catskill

The first Summer Day Program to be held at our new location at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in South Fallsburg has been featured on WJFF-90.5FM Radio Catskill.
Read more: Spark Summer Day Program Featured on WJFF-Radio Catskill
Overnight Leadership Camp 2025: A Summer of Integrity!

The crown jewel in RMM’s Youth Empowerment Program, our Summer Overnight Leadership Camp welcomed nearly 80 youth from across New York State, ages 8-17, for the week of Aug. 17-23. Our theme this year was Integrity, with campers exploring its meaning throughout their activities, art projects, performances and discussions. For more than 35 years, Overnight…
Read more: Overnight Leadership Camp 2025: A Summer of Integrity!
Maria Christina Martinez at Marble Collegiate Church

Maria Christina Martinez, who has served on RMM’s Board and currently acts as our Legislative Advocacy Consultant for the Immigrant Legal Rights Project, spoke powerfully about our Youth Empowerment Program this morning at Marble Collegiate Church in Manhattan. Christina spoke about the impact that the Youth Empowerment Program, and particularly the Youth Arts Group, had…
Read more: Maria Christina Martinez at Marble Collegiate Church
Summer Overnight Leadership Camp film

Videographer Ross Corsair created this moving film about the children who attend RMM’s Summer Overnight Leadership Camp.
Read more: Summer Overnight Leadership Camp film
The Youth Arts Group

The Youth Arts Group (YAG) was founded by four teenage women in the 1990s. They were determined to create a program for young people in the Hudson Valley that helped use the arts to bring about change. With more than 100 alums, and a college matriculation rate among YAG graduates more than 95 percent, YAG…
Read more: The Youth Arts Group
The Youth Economic Group

The Youth Economic Group (YEG) was founded by young people in the Catskill mountains in 2010 to help them develop economic security while also working for economic justice. One of the most powerful tools YEG uses for self-empowerment and community development is the creation and management of their own cooperative business, Bags for Justice. Members…
Read more: The Youth Economic Group
Voices of Long Island Youth

Voices of Long Island Youth (VOLIY) is our newest high school Youth Empowerment group. Created by young people who had been a part of the Summer Overnight Leadership Camp and the Summer Day Program on Long Island, VOLIY is based at the Amandla Worker Education Center in Riverhead, on eastern Long Island. Using podcasts as…
Read more: Voices of Long Island Youth
Youth Scholarships

RMM works hard to support the dreams and opportunities of the members of the Youth Empowerment Program through two scholarship programs, The Camp Nurses Scholarship Fund and the Pedro Cruz Scholarship. The Camp Nurses Scholarship Fund was created by the passionate and compassionate nurses of our Summer Overnight Leadership Camp to support graduates of Camp,…
Read more: Youth Scholarships
YEP Practices

Youth Empowerment Program PRACTICES October 2022 Listed below are goals, practices, protocols and curricula included in the Youth Empowerment Program of RMM. Mission Statement To stand with rural youth as they work to bring about systemic change and develop their leadership skills through a model of popular education and community-building. Practice RMM seeks to first…
Read more: YEP Practices
Justice Organization of Youth

Justice Organization of Youth (JOY) was founded by members of our Summer Overnight Leadership Camp in 2016 to give a voice to young people, primarily from farmworking families in the Lake Ontario and Finger Lakes regions of western New York. JOY offers presentations to schools, community events and congregations across New York by performing original…
Read more: Justice Organization of Youth
Bags For Justice

The Youth Economic Group (YEG) manages its own cooperative business, Bags for Justice. Members design images and silkscreen them onto shirts and tote bags. Members learn essential life skills that include: public speaking, marketing, time management, communication, design and silkscreen production. The bags are sold around the state at many events. Bags for Justice is…
Read more: Bags For Justice
Artists in Residence

RMM believes that the arts are essential to building community and effective movement work. Each year we welcome artists in residence as we are intent in incorporating the arts into all of our programs and our centers. Each year, we welcome artists in residence, as we are intent on incorporating the arts into all of our…
Read more: Artists in Residence

Opportunities

Farmworker Albany Day 2026

Rural & Migrant Ministry led a coalition on our annual Farmworker Albany Day on Tuesday, May 19, 2026, working with the New York State AFL-CIO, Worker Justice Center of New York, RWDSU, Workers Center of Central New York, and the Episcopal Diocese of Rochester. This powerful group of organizations, alongside scores of participants, advanced a…
Read more: Farmworker Albany Day 2026
Good Friday Prayer Vigil 2026

On April 3, 2026 — Good Friday — RMM, the Episcopal Diocese of Rochester and the TempleSinai Social Action Committee co-sponsored a gathering that drew more than 150 people fromall faith backgrounds at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Irondequoit Border PatrolStation. Unlike many important protests taking place around our region, this gathering took a…
Read more: Good Friday Prayer Vigil 2026
Alternative Spring Break 2026

March 15 – March 20 With a Lobby Day in the NYS Capitol on March 17 RMM’s Alternative Spring Break is an experiential program offering an in-depth look at the many facets of farmworker life. Participants learn about the agribusiness system and the labor protections from which farmworkers are excluded. During the week, students had…
Read more: Alternative Spring Break 2026
Coffee House 2026

Our 2026 Coffee House fundraiser was FANTASTIC! This annual event, which features our talented youth as well as members of the community, benefits RMM’s Youth Empowerment Program. The event is co-sponsored each year by Hitchcock Presbyterian Church and St. James the Less in Scarsdale, and was held this year at St. James the Less. This…
Read more: Coffee House 2026
Journey of Empathy Caravan of Youth

Leading with Compassion and Purpose Saturday, May 30, 2026 Led by the youth of RMM, this Caravan will focus on the issues that are important to them, including separation of families, keeping our youth safe, and protecting youth in rural New York. This movement brings together young people and the community to uplift voices, stand…
Read more: Journey of Empathy Caravan of Youth
YAG Exhibition: Our Radical Art

RMM’s Youth Arts Group (YAG) had an art exhibition — Our Radical Art — in the lobby of the Newburgh Free Library throughout the month of February 2026. They hosted an opening reception, where members of YAG discussed their work. Their art pieces speak volumes about the impact of our government’s policies on our children,…
Read more: YAG Exhibition: Our Radical Art