Care is where engagement begins.

Young people in Pasadena care deeply about the issues shaping their community. Still, many don’t know where to start getting involved, or they worry that speaking up will lead to conflict instead of connection.

This program is for anyone who cares about what happens in Pasadena, no matter where they’re starting from. Some youth are still figuring out how to speak up about something that matters to them. Others are already the person their friends come to when a conversation gets tense and want better tools for it. No prior experience with civics or local issues is required, and youth of all familiarity levels are welcome to apply.

Over four sessions, participants from different schools and backgrounds will build skills that go both ways—learning to speak up for themselves and learning how to help a conversation stay respectful when other people are the ones speaking up. Sessions cover active listening, disagreeing without making it personal, spotting misinformation, and talking through local issues that actually matter to participants. The series ends with a youth-led dialogue day, where participants move from practicing these skills to leading the room themselves.

Most young people aren’t disengaged from their communities because they don’t care. Many simply don’t know how to turn that care into action, or how to help the people around them do the same. Many Voices, One Pasadena is designed to close that gap by giving youth practical skills they can use in their own lives and share with their friends, schools, and communities, rather than simply knowledge they learned in a workshop.

Participants who attend all four sessions receive a certificate of completion. Joining individual sessions is welcome as well, but the program builds on itself, so attending the full series offers the most benefit.