Nevada Youth Alliance

Nevada Youth Alliance Blog

News, guides and community updates.

A Reno Campus Turns Summer Break Into a Crash Course on College Life

For nearly three decades, the University of Nevada, Reno has spent summer filling its halls with kids instead of undergrads. This year's lineup of 27 weeklong camps adds guitar lessons, a spy-themed detective track and a golf clinic to a roster built to make ages seven through fourteen feel like campus regulars.

Local Teens Traded Summer Boredom for the Driver's Seat at This Year's Karting Camp

A free day camp at Grand Prix Plaza put 160 Southern Nevada teens behind the wheel this month, mixing go-kart racing with hands-on STEM lessons and a reminder that motorsports careers stretch far beyond driving.

Free Sierra Camp Gives Nevada Foster Teens a Week to Just Be Kids

Camp RennerVation's teen session brought foster and at-risk youth from Las Vegas to the Lake Tahoe wilderness this month, pairing firefighters, hockey players and hot air balloons with a bigger goal: building confidence at no cost to families.

A Las Vegas Soccer Academy Just Went Nonprofit So Cost Stops Deciding Who Gets to Play

A competitive youth soccer club in Las Vegas recently converted from a for-profit academy to nonprofit status, with one goal driving the change: make sure a family's income never determines whether a young athlete gets to play at a competitive level.

Sixteen Years Without a New Field: Why Downtown Reno's Youth Sports Build-Out Matters

Construction has started on the first of twelve planned youth sports fields in downtown Reno, a project organizers say is the region's first new flat-field build since 2010 and a chance to widen access for young athletes across northern Nevada.

A Holiday Firework Knocked Out a Las Vegas Youth Sports Hub. Here's How the Community Can Help It Bounce Back

An illegal Fourth of July firework tore a hole in the roof of a southwest Las Vegas youth sports complex, displacing thousands of young athletes while repairs and an investigation get underway.

Nevada's First Standalone Plan to End Youth Homelessness Takes Shape Ahead of November Summit

Registration opens July 14 for the 2026 Nevada Youth Homelessness Summit, a gathering of service providers, government agencies, advocates, and young people with lived experience of homelessness. The summit marks ten years of organized effort to build lasting solutions for the estimated 3,000 unaccompanied youth who access homeless services across Nevada in any given year.

Nevada Ready! Pre-K Opens One Application for 99 Programs: What Southern Nevada Families Need to Know

Starting July 1, Nevada families can fill out a single application to view and apply to 99 participating pre-K programs statewide. The new system, available at First5Nevada.org, simplifies a process that previously required separate applications for each provider.

Nevada 4-H Is Looking for Volunteers This Summer and No Special Skills Are Required

With 41,000-plus youth enrolled in Nevada 4-H programs and two overnight summer camps to staff, the University of Nevada Extension program is actively recruiting adult and teen volunteers across the state.

Nevada Expands Youth Programs Statewide: Financial Literacy and Youth Homelessness Initiatives Lead in 2026

Two significant developments in Nevada's youth support network took shape this summer: a statewide merger that unifies financial literacy programs for K-12 students, and a renewed corporate commitment to ending youth homelessness.

107,000 Strong: How Nevada's Youth Arts and Music Programs Are Changing Young Lives

More than 107,000 students in Clark County School District alone participate in music, performing arts, and visual arts programs. The scope of Nevada's youth creative education is larger than most people realize, and the community impact is measurable.

Nevada's LEAD Program Is Opening Higher Education Doors for Tribal Students in 2026

The University of Nevada, Reno's Learn, Empower, Achieve, Dream Week brought Tribal high school students from across the region to campus this June for hands-on learning, career exploration, and connections to Nevada's growing clean energy and technology workforce.

Opening Career Doors: How Las Vegas Youth Employment Programs Are Building Skills This Summer

From structured resume workshops to real-world job placements paired with adult mentor support, Southern Nevada's youth employment programs are giving teenagers their first professional experience at exactly the moment when it matters most. Here is what families and community supporters should know.

Nevada Youth Are Earning Tech and Trade Credentials Side by Side in 2026

A North Las Vegas graduation ceremony last week put a spotlight on what modern workforce-readiness programs are doing differently: pairing hands-on construction and safety training with digital credentials including AI prompting and drone operation, preparing young people for a labor market that needs both.

Nevada 4-H Summer Camps 2026: STEM Adventures, Outdoor Skills, and Leadership at Camp Alamo and Camp Tahoe

From archery ranges and rock climbing walls at a 72-acre Mojave Desert property to teen leadership retreats at Lake Tahoe, Nevada's 4-H summer camps offer youth a hands-on experience that builds skills and confidence at once.

Nevada Youth Workforce Programs Mark Summer 2026 with Strong Graduation Milestone

Sixteen young people in North Las Vegas completed workforce training and earned industry-recognized credentials through Chicanos Por La Causa's YouthBuild and Growth Opportunity programs, making the class of 2026 a meaningful milestone for Nevada's youth development sector.

Five Goals for Nevada's Students: What the State's 2026 Education Strategic Plan Means for Young People

On March 11, 2026, Nevada's education leadership released a new strategic plan organized around five core priorities. The goals address everything from early literacy to career-connected learning, and they set the direction for how Nevada schools will serve young people in the coming years.

Getting Kids Outside: How Nevada Youth Outdoor Programs Are Making a Real Difference in 2026

An award-winning adventure program in Douglas County has served 313 youth since 2023, and Junior Achievement of Southern Nevada reached 26,007 students last school year. The picture of youth development in Nevada in 2026 is active, outdoor, and growing.

Nevada Youth Civic Leadership in 2026: Programs, Scholarships, and Ways to Get Involved

Nevada's youth leadership landscape saw meaningful developments in 2026, from student delegates representing the state in Washington, D.C. through the U.S. Senate Youth Program to a state mentoring commission distributing $25,000 in micro-grants to local programs. Here is a look at what is available for young Nevadans and how communities can support youth civic development this year.

Ways to Support Local Youth in Southern Nevada

From mentoring to volunteering, practical ways to make a difference for young people.

Team Dinner Done Right: A Local Spot Our Families Love

After a long day of practices, games, and youth programs, families need an easy, affordable place to eat together. Here's one our community keeps recommending.

Why Youth Mentoring Matters

How a single caring adult can change the trajectory of a young person's life.

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