Latest Email

Dear all,

We all have busy summers ahead. This is a great opportunity to get things done, and also enjoy being outside with great weather (hopefully!). There are several updates I would like to announce:

YFCI ALPHA! Magazine~ We need submissions for this year's issue of Alpha. Anu Maheshwari, Editor, hopes to have it published by August.. so please send articles. Here are some ideas, and guidelines for submission:

- Country Reports: All Ambassadors who want to be considered Ambassadors must write at least one article. Many choose to write reports about their own country's culture, educational system, food, human rights conflicts, youth activities, and other information. If you article is very well done, it could be featured as the Featured Country of this year's issue. Should be from 100-900 words, and double spaced.

- Poems: In the past, we have had many wonderful poems in our newsletter. We hope to have at least a couple poems for our next issue. Poems do not have to be professional, just something with meaning and expression. Poems should be 5-30 words.

- Art and Photography: You may submit paintings, photos of artwork, and photography. The only requirement is that the topic should be keeping in terms with YFCI magazine frame. For photos, please submit them pre-sized. There is no exact guideline for the number of pixels, but please have them medium-sized. We are looking for interesting clips which capture something unique about their respective countries, or highlight a specific issue. It could be anything from traditional dance, nature, people celebrating a festival, or issues like poverty, war, drugs, etc. All photos will also be used in the Omega File online photography gallery.

- YFCI Activities Reports: If you are a staff member, it would be cool if you could write a report outlining the year's past activities, accomplishments, and/or inspirations. Reports should be at least 50 words if about a specific project, and at least 150 words if about YFCI activities in general.

Send all articles and photos to Anu Maheshwari, at yfci_editor@yahoo.com

Bloggers for YFCI~ Are you a blogger who wants to spread the word about YFCI? You can become part of Bloggers for YFCI! Just put one of our logos/banners on your blog, or write an article about YFCI on your blog.. or both! Then, send an email to me, at zkomes@sbcglobal.net. Your blog's link will be posted on a special YFCI page. We also need someone to coordinate this project. So if you are interested, please contact me.

Website Help~ If you are an experienced website creator, and can make our organization a CSS template, it will greatly effect how our members help! Please contact me if you can help even a little with website templates, forum look, and image creating.

Videos Needed~ We also could use people to submit videos to continue to keep our YouTube page updated. If you can make short PSAs or videos about a world issue, it would be much appreciated.

When we stand together as one world, great things happen.

Thank you so much!

Zach Komes

April is upon us!

Hello All! I hope everyone is having a wonderful April. We have several updates:



- The OMEGA File has now been launched. The website is a place for YFCI members to submit their photography, and have it seen across the globe. If that sounds interesting, go to T.O.F's website, by clicking here.

- We are soon going to have a "Bloggers for YFCI" project, which will help promote our organization through our members' blogs. If you are interested in helping create this project, please don't hesitate to contact me (zkomes[at]sbcglobal.net)

- Haris has decided to lead the Member Griefances Department, which will help our global moderators with rules, banning, etc. We still are getting the odds and ends together. If you have any suggestions, contact us.


May we ALL have a great April,


Zach Komes
Executive Director

January-March Wrap Up

Dear all members,

You might remember last month, February, we annouced our number of hits per month was down to 950 (the worst YFCI has ever seen, since we started to rapidly increase). I am happy to say, in the Month of March, that YOU have helped YFCI get back on track, with 1428 hits (504 up from February). Thank you so much, it is a big relief :-)

As for new projects, I am creating a new project called "The YFCI Peace Train", which will aim to actually get youth out in the community making a difference. Different from our "Volunteer Stories" project, this will actually give youth several steps for action. Teens will be able to commit themselves, and give their ideas of how they want to make a difference. My goal is to be able to send several packets with information (that will also be found online) to people who are interested, free with a small donation. ABC4ALL has also agreed to participate in this project. Stay tuned.. I hope to officially launch this in Late Apri/Early May.

In other YFCI news, there has been another user-made video submitted by Yubupa, a member from our affiliate ABC4ALL, which outlines several of YFCI's projects. Click here to see it on YouTube. You are invited to create your own video as well. Please send them to zkomes@sbcglobal.net, and we will post it on the YFCI Official YouTube Page, and on our website's YFCiTube page.

We have also created The YFCI Language Center, on the YFCI forums, where members can learn and teach the languages of the world. Currently (as of April 1st), you can learn Spanish, Greek, Dutch, and Arabic from native speakers.. FREE. Forget paying for that book or learning software; enjoy The YFCI Language Center!

Enjoy the new projects. If you are interested in helping YFCI out, click here for some talents we are looking for. As always, to make a donation, contact me.

Kindest Regards,

Zach Komes
Executive Director

Latest News from YFCI

The past month or so has been pretty laid back at YFCI. With our staff's busy school schedules, our website has not been updated in a while. I'm sorry for that, of course, but this is a great opportunity to ask for your help. If you know of any opportunities, websites, images, or anything you think would be cool on our website, feel free to contact us at youthforchange@hotmail.com.

We have got somethings accomplished, though; so here they are:

- Project YAY, our partnership group for YOMI/ABC4ALL/YFCI, launched several chats in the last months. Click here to find summaries and transcripts. YAY has also launched an Advisory Committee, which will help enablize possibilities and collaboration. The UYCW volunteered to become part of it as well.

- The new humanitarian magazine directory is here, click here to visit. The mag directory features magazines that promote change. For our website directory, scroll down to next post.

- The Vegetarian Week event was a great success, with many YFCI members not eating meat for one whole week (I know I couldn't have done it!). Make sure to give those who participated a virtual round-of-applause, and check out their reports here.

Thanks for being part of our organization. We hope to bring you new ideas and updates in the near future. Stay tuned.

Zach Komes
Founder/Executive Director

P.S.: As always, if you'd like to make a donation, contact me for more information.

2007 Wrap-Up! Happy New Year!

Dear all members, staff, and partners,

Thank you so much for your participation with YFCI this past year. It has been very everlasting and inspiring, and we thank you for all your help! We had our share of struggle, but that did not make it a bad year.

Noor Al Zubaidy, from Oman, reviews this year well:

"A new page is now on our website publishing our members' volunteering stories. The page aims to encourage young people to volunteer in their own communities. Like the saying goes 'Think globally, Act locally.'

We have created our own clubs at YFCI where members can kick back and relax, discussing their passions whether they're books, music, movies, sports, tv shows. The Games Forum has been added to our forums so that our members can have fun playing some nice games. These forum games have been very popular.

We have gained new partners:
- United Youth Committee of the World
- Young People We Care
- Students for Global Democracy - Uganda
- Youth Creating Change - Ghana

New staff members:
- Haris, Awareness Director and Co-Founder of the UYCW
- Victoria, Green Dream Project Coordinator and Video Editor
- Andrea, YFCI Contributor and Promotion Video Editor
- Justin Wilkerson, Youth Empowerment Director

And our project E-Z Coffee Stand raised $750 US for Heifer International; which is quite an achievment. The stand donated 2 llamas, a goat, and a waterbuffalo though the Heifer Project.

It has been an eventful year for YFCI, thanks to everyone who believes in the message of YFCI. YFCI is still growing and I hope every year brings success and growth to YFCI and its members."

Thank you so much for your participation in YFCI. We appreciate every post, thought, and idea that made 2007 a wonderful year for Youth for Change International.

Much Thanks,

The YFCI Team

Great Way to Surf the Net!

Ever wonder how many social-change websites there are out there? We did some research and added some of our new-and-old favorites! From Change.org, to Zaadz; this is a great directory for your use. You'll find online communities, social networks, and even a design website. All of the websites have YFCI profiles or listings on them, so you can spread the word about YFCI through that website.

Click here to visit the all new Directory.

But that's not all! You can even nominate your favorite social-change communities and social networking websites. Just email me at zkomes [at] sbcglobal.net, and I'll add your favorite website link, a preview, and a brief description.

We hope you enjoy this new directory. Have Fun!

Zach Komes
Executive Director

P.S.: You can also download a YFCI toolbar to keep informed with YFCI projects, easy access to our links, a pop-up blocker, and more. YFCI earns money every time you download, so Download it today!

Happy Birthday YFCI! Celebration Wrap-Up

Dear members, staff members, and partners,

I would like to thank all those who participated in the Founding Week 2007 Celebrations. Even doing things as simple as visiting the website to see the featured page of the day is greatly appreciated. Staff members put many hours in creating pages, sending articles, and writing responces to make this founding celebration a special one. We discovered the past, present, and future of Youth for Change International.

I would like to thank Mike Munabi, current Awareness Director, Noor Al Zubaidy, our Member Services Coordinator, and everyone who submitted a testimonial to the "How has YFCI influenced you?" page. I would also like to thank Anupreet Kaur, who helped organize the celebration.

Here was the schedule of events:

Sunday: Special Balloons on the homepage
Monday: Chatroom embedded in the Discussion Forum
Tuesday: YFCI's History, written by Zach Komes
Wednesday: YFCI in 2007, written by Noor Al Zubaidy
Thursday: YFCI's Future, written by Mike Munabi
Friday: How has YFCI influenced you? [thanks to everyone!]
Saturday: Day of Rest, no events posted
Sunday: This blog post thanking those who participated

But now that Founding Week is over, it does not mean that we should not continue participating in YFCI's projects. New updates are on our way; A promotion video, Annoucement of the Be the Change Awards winners, and a challenge to be vegetarians for a week. You see? It may be over, but the future will still happen.

Therefore, I personally hope you enjoyed the Youth for Change International birthday celebration. We are, in fact, Two years old now. Lets make it a thousand!

Kindest Regards,

Zach Komes
Executive Director

P.S.: Want to make YFCI go even further? Donate a couple dollars to help cover the costs of running an international organization. Email me for more information.