We offer opportunities for young Arab Americans to build and demonstrate their leadership skills, including fellowship opportunities.
is for Arab American students ages 17-22 and is designed to invest in and develop future leaders through projects and volunteering at ACCESS. Fellowship programming includes policy work, Arab American Capitol Day, local civic engagement work, the Detroit Racial Equity Coalition Newsletter project, and youth voter engagement. Fellows also have access to leadership trainings, mentorship, and make various community connections through their work.
The ACCESS Democracy Fellows created several issues of the D. R. E. C. (Detroit Racial Equity Coalition) Digest to highlight cultural and community events, as well as artists and literature!
ACCESS partners every year with the League of Women Voters Dearborn/Dearborn Heights to host voter registration presentations in classrooms at Dearborn and Dearborn Heights schools. Student volunteers from each school give the presentations to their peers!
is a nine-month leadership training program for college juniors and seniors, as well as graduate-level students or recent graduates. The goal is to develop young Arab American leaders with an interest in the nonprofit sector while also building the capacity of the host organization. Fellows are expected to work 16 hours per week in a host organization and learn about all aspects of a nonprofit organization, including administration, finance, fundraising, communications, community engagement, service delivery, and more.
Each spring, ACCESS partners with the League of Women Voters Dearborn/Dearborn Heights for a youth voter outreach program at high schools in Dearborn and Dearborn Heights. In 2023, we visited 8 schools and made a total of 950 touchpoints, with 425 students pledging to vote in upcoming elections! Presentations to classrooms this year were youth-led, with student volunteers from each school being trained by ACCESS and the league to present to their peers on civic engagement and voting.
places Arab American youth in summer internship positions at federal government agencies, on Capitol Hill, and in other key public service institutions. Students gain a more complex understanding of the federal government, the legislative process, and how to shape policy. These experiences prepare them for work to uplift the Arab American community through increased visibility and representation in spaces where critical policy decisions are made.
