--- --- # The Allstate Foundation Is Redefining Youth Service  Greg Weatherford II has an ambitious goal: to make service part of the daily lives of every young person in America. As the Youth Empowerment Program Officer for [The Allstate Foundation](https://www.allstatecorporation.com/the-allstate-foundation/youth-empowerment.aspx), he’s leading the charge to make it a reality. He shared his thoughts with TIME's Chief Impact Officer, Sade Muhammad. ## A lifelong passion for service Service is personal for Weatherford. At age 12, he was the new kid in a small Texas town. Wanting to make friends and inspired by his parents’ spirit of kindness and giving, he set out to do service work. He quickly discovered, however, that opportunities for kids were scarce. Undeterred, the 7th grader got creative, starting his own nonprofit to help youth lead their own service projects. By the time he graduated high school, he’d mobilized thousands of volunteers and embarked on a lifelong career of service. Now decades later, he’s at the helm of a national movement to redefine youth service. ## Rethinking youth service When Weatherford began working for The Allstate Foundation two years ago, the mission was clear: to empower youth ages 5 to 25 to serve and improve communities. Since then, he’s developed a comprehensive strategy to fulfill it, centered around three core approaches: engaging youth to serve, equipping youth with resources to serve, and preparing adults to support youth service. It started with a redefinition of youth service. He says this is necessary for several reasons, including countering the negative narrative. While today’s youth are often portrayed as “apathetic,” “irresponsible,” and “disengaged,” evidence shows they’re actually beaming with enthusiasm to make a difference in the world. Many already are. The problem is, they just haven’t had a seat at the service table. Nor has the table considered contemporary contexts affecting them, such as the pandemic, the rise of social media, and increasing loneliness. “Oftentimes, when adults talk about youth service, we neglect to actually include youth in those conversations,” Weatherford says. “So, we wanted to take a truly grassroots, 21st century approach to thinking about youth service that included their creativity, empathy, and drive for helping others.” They also wanted to capitalize on the value of service for young people themselves. Weatherford calls it a “superfood” for their development because it helps them develop empathy, self-esteem, social trust, and a sense of belonging. Service has also been shown to provide youth valuable skills, positively impact their academic performance, and improve career prospects. “Understandably, when we talk about service, most of the time we’re focused on the community impact and how it can be a resume builder for youth,” he says. “But this does a great disservice to all that serving communities can do to help youth grow. Service is such a critical opportunity for a youth’s development.” ## Service in action Over the last year, Weatherford’s revamped strategy has started taking shape with the creation of key resources to support youth-led, youth-driven service. This includes [TIME for Kids Service Stars](https://www.timeforkids.com/service-stars/), a program that helps young kids engage with service; microgrants for college and university students to lead service; and a docuseries ([The New Volunteers](https://dosomething.org/program/the-new-volunteers)) with Roadtrip Nation highlighting youth leading service across the country. The Allstate Foundation is also one of the only corporate foundations that directly supports youth with resources, including funding, to lead their own service projects. “We are really entrusting youth to create the impact that they want to see, and we’re so humbled by the response we’ve seen from them,” Weatherford says. “We have met so many amazing young people who are doing great work to improve communities, and they have made it clear how empowering it is to have a corporate citizen like The Allstate Foundation believe in and support their work. We’re so proud of the work that these young people are doing to change lives and communities.” Weatherford says amplifying youth voices is about more than just elevating more youth. It's about creating the conditions that allow their visions of service to become realities and creating access for all youth to participate in service experiences. “If we amplify their voice, they can tell us what they truly need to be supported and engaged to serve,” he says. ​ The Allstate Foundation’s recent publication, [In Our Own Voices](https://expandingleadership.org/inourownvoices/), released in partnership with Center for Expanding Leadership & Opportunity (CELO), provides an example of what this looks like. It’s 100% edited and written by youth doing the service work on a daily basis. Weatherford says their call to action provides a roadmap for how adults, schools, and philanthropies can accelerate youth opportunity and elevate youth impact. ## Mentorship matters Weatherford says mentors also play a key role in elevating today’s youth and were critical in his personal journey. “The mentors in my life truly empowered me by not treating me my age and instead treating me like someone who had ideas they wanted to bring to life,” he said. “Because of how transformative mentorship was in my journey, it’s very important for me to make sure that I do everything that I can to support the next generation. I am always grateful when I can help push young people to accomplish things they themselves didn’t think were possible.” For example, when one of his mentees, Alex Quian, came to him wanting to learn how he could give back, Weatherford encouraged him to complete 30 service projects in 30 days. After completing the challenge, he went on to start his own nonprofit. In fact, he became so passionate about service, he asked Weatherford to co-author a book about youth service: [Better Together: How 30 Days of Service Changed My Life.](https://www.alexquian.com/) ## The future of youth service While progress is underway, Weatherford says much work remains before the goal of universal service for America’s youth is realized. He says that doesn’t mean everyone has to start their own nonprofit, but rather that every young person understands the transformative power of service, both for their communities and for their own lives. “We want them to be inspired and driven to be kind to others and be active in their communities, whatever that means to them,” he says. “To accomplish this, we will continue seeking innovative partnerships that meet youth where they are through media, sports, technology, entertainment, and more.” His advice to kids who want to serve but aren’t sure where to get started? Start small and don’t underestimate the impact that your small actions may have. “Many young people may be passionate about a particular issue and want to do something, but they get dissuaded because they feel like they can’t have any impact. For example: it’s true that you, as an individual, can’t stop climate change. But, if you take actions that reduce your footprint, encourage others to change their habits, or even just teach a peer something new about climate change, then you have made a real difference.” Even small acts of kindness, like helping a neighbor with a chore, complimenting strangers, or paying for somebody else’s meal, are impactful and do more to change your community than you may think. “So, whatever you’re passionate about, think about how you can make a small difference,” Weatherford says. “Then from there, see where your service journey takes you.”  [Learn more](https://www.allstatecorporation.com/the-allstate-foundation/youth-empowerment.aspx) The Allstate Foundation Is Redefining Youth Service ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/branded-content/the-allstate-foundation/youth-empowerment-officer-greg-weatherfords-lifelong-passion-for-service/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/branded-content/the-allstate-foundation/youth-empowerment-officer-greg-weatherfords-lifelong-passion-for-service/"},"headline":"The Allstate Foundation Is Redefining Youth Service","datePublished":"2026-07-09T17:56:56.489Z","dateModified":"2026-07-09T17:56:46.163Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/branded-content/the-allstate-foundation/youth-empowerment-officer-greg-weatherfords-lifelong-passion-for-service/","keywords":[],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/branded-content/the-allstate-foundation/youth-empowerment-officer-greg-weatherfords-lifelong-passion-for-service/","name":"The Allstate Foundation Is Redefining Youth Service"}}]}] ```