Finding Voice is an innovative literacy and visual arts program funded largely by the Every Voice in Action Foundation and Tucson Pima Arts Council. This project-based curriculum is dedicated to helping refugee and immigrant youth in LEARN Center ESL classes at Catalina High School in Tucson, Arizona develop their literacy and second language skills by researching, photographing, writing, and speaking out about critical social issues in their lives and communities.Youth from Afghanistan, Ghana, Honduras, Iraq, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mexico, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Russia, Sierra Leone, Somalia, and Sudan work through the creative process of brainstorming, drafting, revising, drafting further, editing, and finally publishing to produce powerful and thought-provoking pieces which they then share with the community through exhibits, community forums, in an annual publication, and online.

Tucson Youth Week is a series of events to recognize and celebrate the significant impact that young people have on Pima County, including the everyday contributions they make to their families, schools, and community. This annual celebration includes the Community Youth Recognition Event, the Youth Activism Art & Media Showcase, school-based youth activism film screenings, and Global Youth Service Day, as well as a poetry contest and a call to youth artists. Tucson Youth Week will be held from Saturday, April 25 through Friday, May 1, 2009.

Every Voice in Action Foundation is a private foundation based in Tucson, Arizona that makes grants to non-profit organizations to encourage and support youth voice in our community. We define youth voice as young people having an authentic voice in their lives and in the life of the community. For us, this means the community recognizing youth as important resources, and encouraging them to express their unique perspectives and ideas. In addition to grantmaking, we operate and support programs to teach youth about philanthropy and engage them in making grants that benefit other youth and the community. Our Approach to Philanthropy describes our definition of youth voice in more detail.

Tucson Pima Arts Council, as the designated local arts agency for the City of Tucson and Pima County, the Tucson Pima Arts Council provides arts and cultural development services through direct funding, technical assistance, and commissions and contracts to artists and arts organizations and selective special cultural project and cultural development studies facilitation. Through Grants, Community Arts Development, and Public Art Programs, the Arts Council encourages neighborhood, youth and community involvement in the arts. It provides employment opportunities for artists, and crucial support for arts organizations, and it enhances education and promotes heritage-based artistic traditions. Other services include support for International Exchange, and Marketing and Organizational Development assistance for artists and arts organizations. In addition, the Arts Council’s advocacy efforts increase awareness of the importance of the arts and culture to our quality of life, making Tucson and Pima County a better place to visit and live, and contributing to the economic development of the region.