By Roark Petermann
Young people from across New York’s Hudson Valley came together on a recent Saturday to learn from one another at Rural and Migrant Ministry’s annual Summer Youth Gathering. Alongside RMM’s Youth Arts Group (YAG) and Youth Economic Group (YEG), participants from Perspectivas Latinas and the Mid-Hudson Valley Chapter of Amnesty International spent June 6, 2026, at RMM’s Grail campus in Cornwall-on-Hudson, engaging in presentations, artmaking, and bonding activities that highlighted the accomplishments and challenges the youth of rural New York face.
The Summer Youth Gathering drew from YEG and YAG’s two core themes: economic empowerment and art for social change. Workshops included one led by Catskills Regional Coordinator and YEG Coordinator Angela D’Aiuto, which focused on youth purchasing power and consumer decision-making. Participants gathered around a table lined with cups labeled with the names of companies and corporations, a “Farmworker Justice!” banner hanging behind them. They received faux currency and were asked to decide how to spend it. Then, following their responses, D’Aiuto guided a discussion on not only the kinds of goods and services the youth chose to spend their money on, but the business practices and ethical concerns associated with those companies.
The workshop came at a time when corporate collaboration with ICE and the exploitation of immigrant labor has given youth reason to be uncertain about their economic decisions. Several spoke up about their experiences with labor exploitation: the trouble their parents, siblings, and other relatives have faced in receiving livable wages under fair working conditions. D’Aiuto says her workshop aimed to help young people understand that they “can make purchasing choices that align with their values and hold companies accountable for their actions and injustices.” The workshop was a continuation of YEG’s ongoing efforts to help young people recognize the power they wield with their spending choices.
Another workshop, led by artist-educator Estuardo Bonilla and members of YAG, drew from artist Xuewu Zheng’s scroll-making practices. The youth created collaborative scrolls by cutting, rolling, and writing messages about immigrant justice on more than 80 slips of paper. The workshop reflected the longtime mission and successes of YAG, founded in the 1990s to help young people in the Hudson Valley use art for social change. The group’s recent accomplishments in art, advocacy, and community-building include four YAG members leading a two-and-a-half hour workshop for more than 180 students about finding and nurturing young activists. Alongside other RMM youth, YAG also traveled to Albany to advocate for the rights of farmworkers and the protection of the Farm Laborers Fair Labor Practices Act, advancing a human rights agenda for immigrants.
Above all, the group has fostered a safe space for young people who rarely get the chance to express themselves. “We have members that are going through so many challenges right now due to immigration and the racist system that our government is creating,” YAG Coordinator Andrẻs Chamorro said. Workshops like Bonilla’s provide room for members to celebrate, grieve, or call for action through artmaking. Even through immense struggle, Chamorro says, the group’s goals for the future remain the same: “To keep creating radical, political art.”
Ultimately, the future of RMM’s youth programs will be decided by the young people themselves. YAG member Andrew suggested focusing on scale to maximize change: “If more people join RMM and our youth leadership groups, I think that our impact will be bigger,” he said. “While we do make changes now, I think the bigger our community is, the faster and more impactful the change will be.”
Before boarding vans and returning to their homes across the region, participants were asked what they gained from the day’s program. Their answers reflected some of what advocacy groups can provide for young people:
“Meeting new people who are partnered for the same cause,” one Perspectivas Latinas member said.
“Learning about the purpose of different groups and what they want to advocate for,” a YAG member said.
The most common response, however, was also the simplest: “Making new friends.”
Roark Petermann is a Communications Intern for the Summer of 2026.
