Youth Saving Youth

NOYS is a collaborative network of national organizations and federal agencies that serve youth and focus on youth safety and health. Through this network, NOYS influences more than 80 million young people ages 5 to 24 and adult advisors and supervisors. 

Our Vision is to be the premier national youth health and safety coalition. Our mission is to promote youth empowerment and leadership and build partnerships that will save lives, prevent injuries, and promote safe and healthy lifestyles among all youth.

HISTORY Of NOYS

On February 8, 1994 , the National Organization for Youth Traffic Safety Collaboration meeting was held in Washington , DC . This meeting laid the groundwork to what later developed into the coalition known today as the National Organizations for Youth Safety (NOYS).

Youth-oriented national organizations were identified and brought together to explore ways in which they could work together to promote youth safety, specifically highway traffic safety at the time. By working in a concerted effort it was hoped that not only would more youth be reached by programs, but scarce funding resources could be conserved by not duplicating work to reach the targeted youth audience. In addition, and just as important, was the objective to involve youth leaders as a part of this effort.

Since the initial meeting in 1994, the National Organizations for Youth Safety (NOYS) has grown to nearly 40 national, youth-serving organizations. NOYS members have been meeting several times a year over the past several years to share information on their individual programs and projects, collaborate with other member organizations to develop programs, and work together on NOYS-sponsored programs and projects.

NOYS youth design programs, serve as focus-groups or focus-group leaders on cutting-edge issues, speak on issues and promote programs at conferences, meetings, and for media outlets, as well as provide leadership within the coalition.

NOYS has increased diverse representation through the NHTSA-sponsored National Youth Diversity Summit on Traffic Safety held in Los Angeles on July 26-29, 2001 . The Summit brought together five hundred youth and their adult advisors of diverse cultures and backgrounds. The youth were empowered to help reduce risk, injuries and death related to traffic crashes and other issues of concern.

These projects are accessible on the NOYS website at www.NOYS.org.

NOYS also manages mini-grant programs to support innovative strategies that model problem-solving among local community coalitions.

• There is no other organization like NOYS . It is the premier, longest operating coalition of youth serving and youth membership organizations in America .
• NOYS youth leaders take their training and energy back to their respective organizations to impact their peers at the national, state, and community level.
• The diversity of NOYS membership organizations ensures that programs and events reach a youth population that includes diverse race, income, ethnic, gender, ability, and geographic populations.
• There are over 250 national youth organizations in the U.S. and NOYS intends to attract those organizations that share the NOYS mission to join the NOYS coalition.

STRUCTURE

  NOYS is a collaboration of close to 40 national, youth-serving organizations, including non-profit organizations and government agencies, with the common goal of promoting safe and healthy behaviors among our nation's youth.

The coalition meets in a round table forum approximately 2-3 times per year.

NOYS is governed by a rotating Board of Directors of up to 21 members with a minimum of up to four youth representatives sitting on the Board. The Board of Directors is the governing committee of NOYS, and has sub-committees on programs, communications, and membership. There are, however, other committees that may be formed on an ad hoc basis to address issues such as fundraising, special initiatives, and other items of business that may arise.