SCSC Awarded State Grant to Advance Youth-Led Community Partnerships
What began as a partnership between South Central Service Cooperative (SCSC) and Making Champions of Change (MCC) is growing into a regional effort to strengthen belonging, trust, and community connections through student voice.
SCSC has been awarded a Minnesota Department of Education Innovation in Service Learning Grant to support Building Belonging Through Youth-Led Community Partnership, an initiative that brings students, educators, and community partners together to explore how stronger relationships can create stronger schools and communities.
The project builds on the relationship first established between SCSC and MCC, grounded in a shared belief that lasting change happens through reflection, dialogue, and learning. As the partnership evolved, additional organizations joined the effort, including Minnesota New Country School, Le Sueur-Henderson Public Schools, and the Henderson Police Department.
At a time when schools and communities are seeking new ways to strengthen relationships and foster belonging, the initiative creates space for students and adults to learn together, reflect on shared experiences, and identify practical strategies for building trust.
Over the course of 10 weeks, students will work alongside educators and community partners to examine what helps people feel connected, what contributes to exclusion, and how trust can be strengthened across schools and communities. Through structured conversations, reflection activities, and collaborative learning experiences, students will help shape the dialogue and identify opportunities for growth.
At the heart of the initiative is a simple but powerful idea: students experience school and community systems every day, making their perspectives essential to creating environments where everyone feels valued, supported, and heard.
Throughout the project, students will document their experiences, insights, and recommendations through guided reflection and dialogue. Those insights will be used to develop companion guides designed to help educators and community partners better understand belonging, discipline, and relationship-building through a student lens. The goal is to create practical tools that support more restorative, relationship-centered approaches long after the project concludes.
Making Champions of Change will support the initiative through its Reflect. Connect. Grow. framework, helping participants move from immediate reactions to deeper understanding, meaningful conversation, and practical action. The framework provides a structured process for capturing learning and turning insights into practices that can be sustained over time.
The grant represents more than funding for a single project. It reflects the growth of a regional partnership committed to listening, learning, and working together to address complex challenges. By bringing students, educators, and community leaders into the same conversations, the initiative aims to strengthen relationships, elevate student voice, and create lasting positive change across the region.