Sparks Champion Volunteers
What is a Sparks Champion?
A Sparks Champion is a youth leader, adult volunteer, or parent/guardian who:
- Helps youth identify a spark by pointing out moments when you observe them exhibiting joy and positive energy.
- Affirms youth’s spark(s) by asking questions, listening, attending games, performances, and presentations, and providing encouragement.
- Helps youth identify opportunities to express their spark(s).
- Models their spark.
- Helps youth overcome obstacles in the way.
Why choose to become a Sparks Champion?
A spark is an activity or interest that youth care about that helps them feel good about who they are and gives them a sense of purpose.
About 2 out of 3 adolescents can name their spark.
1 in 3 teenagers know their spark and get support from adults to nurture it.
When youth have at least 3 Sparks Champions from different parts of their lives (family, school, community), they are more likely to thrive.
Scales, P.C., Redmond, N., Benson, P.L. (2023). Thriving and Sparks. In: Levesque, R.J. (eds) Encyclopedia of Adolescence. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-32132-5_199-2
Sparks Champion Training
Sparks Champion Training is a 1.5-hour Zoom session that helps older youth and adults to:
- Understand sparks and how we help youth identify their sparks.
- Describe the role of Sparks Champions.
- Identify reasons why youth may struggle to develop their sparks.
- Describe how Sparks Champions can support youths’ sparks and how to recognize growth.
Watch this page for future training opportunities!
Resources for Sparks Champions
Set up a Sparks Interview
Ask youth to interview an adult in their life about sparks. Then, invite them to share with their class or group what they learned through the interview. Support the youth in writing a thank-you note to the interviewee, including a big idea they learned from that person.
Host a Sparks Fair
A Sparks Fair can be a space for youth to share with or teach others about their Spark. Use the provided format or adapt it for your needs. Thank you to the Search Institute for their Sparks Fair lesson plan
Host a Career Fair or Field Trip
A career fair or field trip to a local, regional, or state site can inspire young people to learn and explore more. These are a great opportunity to connect youth with professionals and others who share that Spark.