Inspiring young people, parents, and community members to work together toward a better world.

The Junior Youth Spiritual Empowerment Program (JYSEP) is a global movement inspiring young people, parents, and community members to work together toward a better world. Over the past 10 years, the program has grown locally from being supported by a small group of youth to include over 200 young people mentoring throughout Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Durham, Cary, Raleigh, and many places in-between.

What is the JYSEP?

The Junior Youth Spiritual Empowerment Program trains teens and young adults to mentor younger peers aged 11 to 15.

Each week, mentors and junior youth put their heads together to study materials based around moral and spiritual concepts and talk about how to navigate a complex world, resist negative forces in their lives, and promote social progress.

Trainings and ongoing support help teens and young adults learn and grow as mentors for the program. In the groups they are helped to start, they engage participants in meaningful conversations, arts and crafts, and youth-led service projects. Mentors also build friendships with parents and gain practical skills such as lesson planning and coordination.

Inspired and sponsored by the Baha’i Faith, the program thrives through the participation and contribution of people from diverse backgrounds.

What Motivates Us

Behind this effort are local folks just like you. Along the way, many mentors discover that the Junior Youth Spiritual Empowerment Program makes an impact in their own lives—as well as the lives of the teens they serve.

“I’m part of their life. They’re part of my life.”

When you get involved with this program, you’re doing more than helping others. For Diana, becoming a mentor changed her own life too.

The Power of True Friendship

Friendships are essential to creating better communities. But in many neighborhoods, friendships have eroded and we barely know our neighbors. Most people will agree that things must change.

Three questions you need to ask yourself

As the Junior Youth Spiritual Empowerment Program makes a positive impact throughout the globe, we are learning about young people’s potential to create powerful change.