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The Early Thriver Program Gets a Structure: THRIVE ON! Formalizes Three Tracks and Renames the Adjunct Route to Y.O.U.T.H. Force
THRIVE ON! Network Inc. (THRIVE ON!) has officially formalized the structure of its Early Thriver Program — the youth leadership initiative at the heart of everything THRIVE ON! does. With three distinct tracks now clearly defined and the former Adjunct route renamed as the Y.O.U.T.H. Force track, the program enters its next era with a sharper identity, a broader reach, and a clearer path for young people to step into leadership.
1 de diciembre de 2025
One Program, Three Tracks
The Early Thriver Program is THRIVE ON!'s core youth leadership initiative — a catalyst for young leaders to discover their passions, develop real skills, and create meaningful change in their communities. Since its launch in 2024 with a first cohort of six Kingston youth focused on food system transformation, the program has grown steadily into something larger and more structured than any single project.
It now operates across three distinct tracks, each designed for a different entry point into the work — but united by the same belief: that young people, when trusted with real responsibility and real relationships, are capable of leading real change.
Stewardship — THRIVE ON!'s original, high-commitment track for youth ready to move from learning about change to actually leading it. Over seven months, Stewardship Early Thrivers dig into social issues, sharpen transferable skills, take responsibility for projects that matter, build professional portfolios, earn paid experience, and learn how to guide teams and manage community initiatives at a higher level. It was through this track that Early Thrivers launched their first major project: the PonckHockie Market.
Curriculum to Community — A bridge between campus and real-world impact, developed in partnership with the University at Albany School of Social Welfare. This track places college students in hands-on projects connected to THRIVE ON!'s community work, allowing them to apply academic learning to meaningful, real-life challenges while building relationships and supporting grassroots change. Many SUNY Albany students have stayed on as volunteers long after their coursework ended.
Y.O.U.T.H. Force — formerly the Adjunct route, and now carrying a name that reflects the full scope of what it has become. Y.O.U.T.H. Force (Youth Organizations Uniting to Help) centers on collaborating with allied organizations to design and deliver hands-on service experiences that meet real community needs. Youth jump into meaningful work, build employable life skills, and connect with a wider network of mentors, partners, and opportunities.
Why Y.O.U.T.H. Force
The former Adjunct route earned its new name the hard way — through several months of real work with real young people, across multiple organizations and communities.
What started as a short two-week pilot with the Children's Home of Kingston grew into an 8-week service workshop — and the experience was meaningful enough that both organizations are already in conversations about deepening it further. Along the way, CHK Early Thrivers cooked hundreds of meals, built garden infrastructure, and distributed food to hundreds of community members.
Y.O.U.T.H. Force has also brought Early Thrivers together through shorter, project-based engagements that leave something lasting in the community. In partnership with D.R.A.W. Kingston, Early Thrivers spent three sessions designing a mural to beautify a local community fridge — a project rooted in the belief that the places people access for basic needs should also bring them joy.
"There is nothing quite like watching young people discover what they're capable of," said Candace Lindenlauf, Early Thriver Program Director and Vice President of THRIVE ON!. "Y.O.U.T.H. Force is the name this track earned. The new name reflects the power of what happens when organizations come together and trust young people with real work — and we've had front-row seats to that, over and over again."
A Foundation for What's Next
Formalizing the three-track structure is more than an organizational update — it's a signal about where the Early Thriver Program is headed. With clearly defined pathways, THRIVE ON! can more intentionally recruit partner organizations into Y.O.U.T.H. Force, deepen its university partnerships through Curriculum to Community, and continue developing the Stewardship track as a high-investment pathway for Kingston youth ready to lead long-term.
"The Early Thriver Program has grown because of the partners who believed in it alongside us — CHK, SUNY Albany, Community Action, and others," said Keyvious Avery, President of THRIVE ON!. "But at the center of all of it are young people who showed us what was possible. We didn't design this structure from the top down — we built it around what was already working, and around who was already showing up. This structure is our way of making it easier for more partners and more young people to find their place in this work."
Each track is designed to grow. Each one is already proving what it can do. And together, they represent a program that is no longer just a pilot — it is a durable, expanding infrastructure for youth leadership in Kingston and beyond.
About the Early Thriver Program
The Early Thriver Program is THRIVE ON!'s core youth leadership initiative, operating across three tracks — Stewardship, Curriculum to Community, and Y.O.U.T.H. Force — each offering a distinct pathway for young people to develop skills, build relationships, and lead meaningful change in their communities.
About THRIVE ON!
THRIVE ON! is a youth-driven nonprofit based in Kingston, NY. Through its Early Thrivers program and Rootwork incubator, THRIVE ON! equips young people and grassroots leaders to design, build, and lead the solutions their communities need.