MYTOWN
MYTOWN (Multicultural Youth Tour of What's Now) employs and trains low and moderate-income Boston teens to develop skills to create and lead historical walking tours. Through this unique youth development program teens learn about the history of their families, neighborhoods and the city. For more than ten years MYTOWN's youth have given tours to hundreds of Boston residents and visitors. In 1996, when MYTOWN expanded from six to 13 teenage tour guides after a successful inaugural year, one of the returning guides remembers thinking, "We can't do thirteen." Expansion may have provoked a bit of anxiety at first, but MYTOWN has since grown to five full-time staff members (including that skeptical guide) and 50 tour guides - who in turn impact thousands of tour participants each year.
This admittedly modest growth has allowed MYTOWN to retain its tight-knit, family feel - which is just how they like it. The relationships between the teens and the adult staff are the heart of the organization, and keeping MYTOWN small ensures that those bonds remain strong, caring, and relevant. "Our basement in the Fenway is an important place in these young people's lives," says Marinell Rousmaniere, MYTOWN's executive director.
Although Rousmaniere feels that scale is often overvalued when it comes to teen programs, she recognizes some of the advantages in growth, including a greater ability to compete for funding, and, of course, to serve more young people. (The demand is certainly there: 200 teenagers applied to be tour guides this year.) "We continue to have a conversation about the best way to grow our impact, but also maintain the quality of the program," says Rousmaniere. One innovative solution that hasn't required a sacrifice is a new program in which staffers and guides visit other youth organizations to lead workshops in MYTOWN's unique empowerment-through-local history model. This is an effective way of 'teaching a man to fish,' and also ensures that no one is ever crowded out of the basement.