Building Teen Leaders in Rural America
What does it take to change a community? It takes everyone. Teenagers have unique abilities to influence. When given real challenges that matter to them, they can do anything. Challenge and Change teaches teen girls to become social entreprenuers and improve their communities.

Springboard and Girl Scouts of the USA.
Challenge and Change is an innovative leadership program in its fifth year, serving hundreds of girls and rural communities in over 30 states across the United States. Springboard Innovation developed the multimedia curriculum and training program for the GSUSA program Girl Scouts in Rural Communities, and has trained the adult facilitators since 2004 to successfully implement the program.


In Louisiana, the girls get a visit from the Office of Social Entrepreneurship
Girls in Louisiana and across the nation begin to see their own communiites in new ways. They recognize assets they didn't notice before, and learn how to define the kind of communities they want to live in. When adults provide needed support and encouragement, they see themselves as real leaders—the kind of leaders the world needs.

Strengthening girl leadership through authentic challenges.
Through Challenge and Change, girls envision and launch long-term projects that address local issues. The program begins with a five-day retreat where girls come together to learn leadership, problem solving, and entrepreneurial skills. After the retreat, additional learning modules offer support and ongoing skill-building.

Social entrepreneurship—not just for adults.
Girls learn to apply the strategies of successful social entrepreneurs. They see social entrepreneurs in action by watching and analyzing episodes from The New Heroes, the PBS documentary series about effective social entrepreneurs from around the world. To bring the topic closer to home, girls also take field trips to meet social entrepreneurs in their own local communities. Girls often come together from many surrounding rural communities, meeting each other for the first time. Learning about other small communities strengthens their ability to generate good ideas that work.

Challenge and Change teaches girls the skills to identify community problems they care about, recognize and build on local assets, design a sustainable solution, and build an action plan. After the retreat, girls return home and recruit a community action team—including an adult who serves as their community champion—to turn their good idea into a sustainable, long-term project.

Challenge and Change in the news.
Challenge and Change was featured in the Skoll Foundation eNews, which tracks trends and highlights promising programs in the global world of social entrepreneurship.

The $8 million in grants are administered by USDA’s Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service (CSREES).

For more information about Challenge and Change, please feel free to email us.