Position Paper #2: Interest Group or Issue (National, State, or Local)

 Interest Group: YouthBuild

    In this paper, I will discuss an interest group and all their works. Many people can identify with an interest group. Interest groups can be found anywhere. Interest groups primarily focus on targeting certain audiences to draw attention or bring to the surface an issue or major concern for something. Even though the interest group is a small part of the world, they try to target the general public for their concerns and issues. Interest groups can choose to be public or private. Private interest groups usually seek particularized benefits from governments that favor either a single interest or a narrow set of interests. For example, corporations and political institutions may lobby the government for tax exemptions, fewer regulations, or favorable laws that benefit individual companies or an industry more generally. Their goal is to promote private goods (Lumen). On the other hand, public interest groups attempt to promote public, or collective, goods. Such collective goods are benefits—tangible or intangible—that help most or all citizens (Lumen). The interest group I will be discussing is a group people may not know. 

    The interest group is called YouthBuild. YouthBuild is a non-profit organization which on a voluntary basis provides education, counseling and job skills to unemployed young American adults, generally high school dropouts. The headquarters of YouthBuild is Somerville, Massachusetts. At YouthBuild programs in the United States and across the globe, low-income young people learn construction skills through building affordable housing for homeless and low-income people in their neighborhoods and other community assets such as schools, playgrounds, and community centers (https://www.youthbuild.org/). YouthBuild targets the majority of those who didn't finish high school and gives them opportunities for great success. Founded in 1990 by Dorothy Stoneman and John Bell, YouthBuild gives hope to these young adults providing a skill set for the future. The target age demographic for YouthBuild is around to 16-24 years old. 

    YouthBuild gives young adults a sense of stability that they didn't have before. YouthBuild programs instill to young adults community leadership, education, and job opportunities. YouthBuild lives by 6 mottos. They strive to empower, educate, build, serve, advocate, and support. YouthBuild is not only doing wonders in the United States but also globally. YouthBuild International There are 100 YouthBuild International locations in 21 countries: 6,000 participants were engaged. 300,000 community-service leadership hours were performed. 300 community asset building projects were completed ranging from housing upgrades and public space reclamation to school renovations. 3,000 YouthBuild International graduates obtained placements leading to productive livelihoods (https://www.youthbuild.org/). Their impact is just not for the United States but all over the world. YouthBuild USA is run by CEO John Valverde and YouthBuild International is run by Tim Cross. YouthBuild also can thank their success and reach to youth because of their partners. YouthBuild has partners with many public or private interest groups such as VISTA, Citi Foundation, and Habitat for Humanity. 

    Moving on to discussing YouthBuild social media approach, they have quite the marketing for their social media. The first thing I noticed on the YouthBuild website is the format. The layout of the blue and white color and font of the website is eye-catching. Their logo with a person climbing a ladder with the words "YouthBuild" really highlights and symbolizes the meaning of their program. Their website is well marketed. They have various links on how to donate, the stories or videos of young adults and their time with the program, and just overall look into the YouthBuild program. Overall, when you visit their website, it provides resourceful information about YouthBuild. YouthBuild's Facebook account is very active. They use the same logo as the website with ladder incorporated. Their Facebook contains various things about their response to Covid-19 and how it affects their program. It also showcases many fundraisers and events dedicated to young adults. 

    The fundraisers are usually to raise money for the young adults to celebrate their birthdays. It provides articles, conferences, and seminars about the program on their Facebook. Their Twitter account is the same as Facebook. It shows the resources and links just in tweets. They don't have very many Twitter followers compared to an average organization account. They have 9,164 followers. It can constitute a pretty low number of followers besides an average teenage Twitter account. I think the low count of followers is due to the marketing of their Twitter. I feel that if they choose to focus their time on really branding their twitter it could with their outreach to more opportunities for their program. I said that because Twitter is one of the most influential and followed social media outlets of today. Having immediate success on Twitter could boost not only their social media but also their program as a whole. When I look at their YouTube account, I have to say I'm disappointed. Their YouTube account has not been updated since last year. It only has 261 subscribers. For an organization like YouthBuild, I would have guessed their YouTube would be more active. YouTube is very prevalent in the youth so by marketing through YouTube, young adults would see the commitment from the program trying to get their attention. Mostly, if you scroll through the YouTube it is a lot of stories and experiences from young adults sharing their input on the program. It would be great to see more of whom I have been added to the program to share their story. It also can be good marketing for their social media  to show the perspective from young adults internationally. 

    Overall to put into words the marketing of YouthBuild social media, it could be done way better than it is. Every of their social media accounts takes from the United States perspective but not globally. I would like to see how they market their social media internationally. On how the program affects the youth  around the world. In fact if YouthBuild can get their social media platform out there and market all their accounts appropriately, there is no limit to how big their program can be.