Students Today Leaders Forever's (STLF) was a

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

that engaged in and encouraged

servant leadership Servant leadership is a leadership philosophy in which the goal of the leader is to serve. This is different from traditional leadership where the leader's main focus is the thriving of their company or organization. A servant leader shares power ...

, primarily carrying this out through facilitating cross-country service trips, called "

Pay it Forward Pay it forward is an expression for describing the beneficiary of a good deed repaying the kindness to others rather than paying it back to the original benefactor. It is also called serial reciprocity. The concept is old, but the particular ph ...

Tour"s, for students within the United States. The mission of the organization was to reveal leadership through service, relationships, and action as a result of these tours. STLF allowed voluntary participation to students in the middle school, high school, and collegiate level. STLF stated its purpose was to provide leadership experience and encourage students to become catalysts for positive change in their own lives, schools, and communities. Before dissolving, it had chapters at 32 universities in 10 states. It dissolved in May 2018, citing "challenges in program participation and fundraising".

History

STLF was founded in September 2003 at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

by four

Carlson School of Management The Curtis L. Carlson School of Management is the business school of the University of Minnesota, a public research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Carlson School offers undergraduate and graduate degr ...

freshmen. STLF's first Pay It Forward Tour went out in March 2004. In total, 788 Pay It Forward Tours were completed with 30,375 total participants. STLF's national office was headquartered in

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

, with student-led college chapters and programming partnerships with many high schools and middle schools across the United States. The following is a timeline of various STLF milestones:

Programs

The Pay It Forward Tour was a multi-day volunteer trip focused on service, education, and reflection. Groups of students traveled by charter bus across the United States and volunteered in a new city each day of a 9-day trip, intentionally coinciding with

Spring Break Spring break is a vacation period at universities and schools that includes the Easter holiday, and takes place in early Northern Hemisphere spring. Introduced in the U.S. during the 1930s, spring break has been observed in Europe since t ...

for many universities. Lodging accommodations were organized through non-profits who willingly allowed STLF volunteers to sleep overnight in their facilities without pay. On arrival, students participated in a single or variety of group service activities, toured the city, and participated in leadership exercises and bonding activities. As tours continued, leadership activities were to become more personal to the groups of students in conjunction with attempts at increased internal bonding and exploration of concepts such as personal struggles, societal pressures, and individual growth. While city destinations were unique for each tour, all tours concluded with a final stop at one of each year's "destination cities" where an organization-wide service project was held with all schools arriving, in addition to celebratory activities, titled the "Yeah Buddy Bash". Use of the phrase "Yeah Buddy" and the

Sign of the horns The sign of the horns is a hand gesture with a variety of meanings and uses in various cultures. It is formed by extending the index finger, index and little fingers while holding the middle finger, middle and ring fingers down with the thum ...

together was encouraged as part of the culture of the organization. Each attendee paid $525 per trip to accommodate for gasoline expenses and twice-daily meals. Each "Pay it Forward Tour" was planned and facilitated by volunteer student leadership within a chapter. Three to five individuals worked together in a shared leadership model called the Core Model. The Core Model allowed the individuals involved to work toward a common purpose. The purpose of the model was for the "Core" to work together to share overarching areas, while opting into individuals strengths and role-specific responsibility areas. In addition to the Pay It Forward Tour, STLF held Summer Leadership Camps for college chapter leaders. Leadership Training was also hosted for students.

Accomplishments

The Engaged Philanthropy Conference awarded STLF the 2008 Social Entrepreneur's Cup – an honor recognizing Minnesota's top innovator for social change. TIME Magazine used STLF and the Pay it Forward Tour as an example within its #2 Way to Serve America in ’21 Ways to Serve America.' In 2010, STLF was recognized as the first organization to complete its Accountability Wizard review featuring the Council's new Accountability Standards.{{Cite web , title=Council Announces the First Nonprofit to Complete Review Under New Accountability Standards , url=http://www.smartgivers.org/stlf.html , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304032300/http://www.smartgivers.org/stlf.html , archive-date=4 March 2016 , access-date=3 September 2024

Sources

External links

Spring Break Cleaning
- WHNT News 19 (Huntsville, TN)
Spring Breakers Forgo Partying to Serve
- The entuckyState Journal
College Students on Spring Break Camp Out in Wilmington
- WECT News
Minnesota students volunteer to 'Pay it Forward' at Trinity River Audubon Center
- North Texas News
Students on Spring Break Trade Surf for Service
- Tulsa World
Illinois Collegians Volunteer to Spruce Up Panther Hollow
- Pittsburgh Post Gazette Youth organizations based in the United States