LogoBelong
Partner With Our Youth

We crossed borders.
Now we build
neighborhoods..

Amara Okonkwo

Age 17 · Kampala, Uganda → Minneapolis, MN

Belong Cohort III
🌱 Urban Garden
Young woman kneeling in a raised garden bed, hands in dark soil, green plants around her in an urban community garden

Amara Okonkwo

Kampala, Uganda → Minneapolis, MN

Growing Roots

"I planted tomatoes in a lot that used to be a parking space."

My first week in Minneapolis, I couldn't read the bus schedule. By spring, I was teaching the neighbors how to grow ugali corn in raised beds. People stopped to ask me questions. That's the first time I felt like I belonged here.

Amara Okonkwo, 17

Cohort III · Urban Garden Program

Belong
🗣️ Translation Corps
Teenage boy sitting across a kitchen table from an elderly woman, both looking at a document, warm afternoon light through the window

Dao Xiong

Vientiane, Laos → St. Paul, MN

Bridging Voices

"Mrs. Hernandez hadn't understood her Medicare letter in three years. I translated it in twenty minutes."

I speak Lao, Thai, and English. The school system only sees a kid who is "still learning." But when I sat down with Mrs. Hernandez and translated her benefit letter, she cried. I wasn't a student anymore. I was someone who could actually help.

Dao Xiong, 16

Cohort II · Neighbor Translation Corps

Belong
🏛️ Civic Leadership
Young Latina woman standing at a podium in a city council chamber, speaking into a microphone, council members visible in the background

Valentina Reyes

San Pedro Sula, Honduras → Minneapolis, MN

Civic Power

"I testified at the zoning hearing. The council members wrote down what I said."

We ran a citizenship prep workshop every Thursday for six months. Then I found out the city was going to rezone our garden site. So I prepared like it was a test — researched the code, wrote my testimony in English and Spanish, and stood up at the mic. The permit was approved. That was not a student project. That was civic power.

Valentina Reyes, 18

Cohort I · Civic Leadership Track

Belong

By the Numbers

What our youth have built since 2022.

0

Youth Served

across 3 cohorts

0

Languages Spoken

in our program

0+

Service Hours

logged this year

0

Families Reached

via translation corps

0

City Council

testimonies given

Data from 2022–2025 program years · Minneapolis–St. Paul metro area

Partner With Our Youth

You've met five of them.
Now show up for them.

Belong partners are suburban congregations, municipal grant offices, and corporate ESG teams who want impact they can photograph — and impact that outlasts the photo.

🌱

Fund a Cohort

$8,400 covers one youth for a full program year — stipend, materials, and civic mentorship.

📍

Host a Service Site

Offer a garden lot, a community room, or a city department where our youth can serve.

🤝

Volunteer as a Mentor

Meet with a young person monthly. Bring your professional network. Listen first.

Let's talk.

Fill this out and someone from our team will reach you within two business days.

No spam. We'll only reach out about your partnership.

Not ready to partner yet?

Get our 2025 Impact Report.

Twelve pages of real outcomes, named youth, specific projects, and what it costs to run a program that actually works. No corporate language. Just the work.

PDF · Free · No pitch deck attached