our mission

 Bridge Builders CHANGE is a fellowship for youth community organizers working to create systemic, sustainable, positive change in our communities. We believe that youth not only are the future, but are the now and are essential in creating change. We also believe that all of our struggles are interconnected, and to work toward our collective liberation, we must unite and work together. To do this, we strive to work from a place of youth-adult equity and wholistic centered action. 

how do we do it?

Bridge Builders CHANGE is comprised of 4 cohorts: The Memphis Youth Union (MemYU), Education Justice (EDJ), Gender and Sexuality (GAS), and Memphis Against Sexual Assault and Harassment (MASHA). Each cohort aims to implement systemic and sustainable change by implementing a strategic plan that builds on the work of previous cohorts, in collaboration with current organizations and movements working on similar issues. Together, the four cohorts unite to support each other and advance their campaigns, creating an intersectional, youth-led movement. 

cLICK oN AN ICON Below TO LEARN MORE ABOUT EACH COHORT

​THE MEMPHIS YOUTH UNION (MEMYU)
EDUCATION YOUTH JUSTICE (EDJ)
GENDER AND SEXUALITY (​GAS)
MEMPHIS AGAINST SEXUAL HARASSMENT AND ASSAULT (​MASHA)

our history

The 2018-2019 school year will be CHANGE's 8th year since it was first created. This fellowship has undergone tremendous growth and transformation ...
 2011-2012 Bridge Builders CHANGE's first cohort, consisting of 12 youth fellows, begins its work
  • 2015 MASHA and MemYU are created
  • 2016 GAS is created
  • February 2018 BRIDGES hosts the Youth Action Summit, its first national youth conference, organized by a team of CHANGE Fellows
  • May 2018 Education Justice and Youth Justice Reform combine to form one cohort