The National Network Opposing the Militarization of Youth (NNOMY)

One of the best things counter recruitment activists can do is to offer concrete career, life and education alternatives to what the military offers. People enlist for a variety of reasons such as: money for college, job training/skills, direction in life, discipline, to be part of a team, travel, to serve their country, to get out of trouble with the law, physical training, even citizenship. It is important to keep all of these in mind when talking to young people.

Also keep in mind that young people may have hidden motivations such as wanting simply to be more respected. Some may need to escape a difficult home environment or abusive relationship or deal with other problems in their life. Young people do not always share these deeper reasons for wanting to enlist, so listen closely. Stock answers about education and job opportunities may not be helpful in such a case, but they may help a young person to think of other ways to get out of a bad situation.

Some non-military options for youth listed alphabetically: Click on a link below to get you started

Civilian Corp Opportunities	Community Service
AmeriCorps City Year Corps Earth Corps Green Job Corps National Conservation Corps Peace Corps Public Allies Student Conservation Association United We Serve Youth Conservation Corps	United We Serve/Corporation for national and Community Service
Cultural and Art Activism	Green Opportunities and Activism
Cultural & Art Activism	A New Way Forward Communities for a Better Environment Community Organizing Grassroots Job Source/Orion Magazine International Youth Climate Movement Non-profit work/Idealist.org Outward Bound Adventures Student Conservation Association (SCA) Teens 4 Good/Philadelphia The Los Angeles Community Garden Council
Internships and Training	Jobs
Internship Search Job training programs Search	Teens for Hire Career One Stop
Mentorship Opportunities	Other Non-military Opportunities Pages
Mentorship Search	Alternatives to the Military/AFSC/Documents/National Alternatives to Military Service/Michigan Alternative Ways to Meet Your Goals Without Joining The Military/NYCLU/New York City Non-military Opportunities/Project YANO/San Diego Project Great Futures/Los Angeles Youth Activists  - Youth Allies Alternatives Page/New York City
Preparing for School and Jobs	Schools, Scholarships, and Grants
CalApprenticeships Campaign for College Opportunity CSU MENTOR/California State Universities EDFUND.ORG Families in Schools Foundation for Second Chances, Inc Para Los Niños Women in NonTraditional Employment Roles	Schools: College & Universities Search Trade schools Search Funding: Apply for Grants/U.S. Government Grants Application Site Federal Government Pell Grant Federal Work Study Program Free Application for Federal Student Aid SallieMae College Answer Scholarship Search Scholarships categorized by race and ethnicity Scholarships for Average Students Scholarships for First Generation Students Scholarship Search Secrets E Book (PDF) Student Aid on the Web Student Scholarship Search
Sports Opportunities	Traveling Opportunities
Sports Search Volunteer Coaching Sports Abroad	Appalachian Trail Conference, USA Conservation Volunteers, Australia and New Zealand Help Exchange, Worldwide Habitat for Humanity/U.S./International Kibbutz Volunteer, Israel Peace Corps, Worldwide Pueblo Inglés, Spain Trip Leader for HF Holidays, Europe Turtle Teams, Worldwide http://www.seaturtles.org http://www.cccturtle.org/ United Nations Volunteers, Worldwide Sudan Volunteer Programme, Sudan WWOOF (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms)
Volunteer Opportunities	Youth Solidarity Organizations
AVSO-Association of Voluntary Service Organizations California Volunteers Council on International Education Exchange EVS - the European Voluntary Service Global Crossroads Global Volunteers Independent Volunteers Public Allies United Nations Online Volunteer Program United Nations Volunteers  Volunteer Abroad - Cross-Cultural Solutions	World Youth Alliance/United Nations

You can research non-military options for youth in your area and create a brochure that describes each one and provides contact information as well. If you do, please forward the link to NNOMY at admin+at+nnomy+dot+org so we can refer to it when we develop a more expanded resource on Alternatives by region.

We also have compiled a collection that lists state-by-state what many opportunities are available complete with contact information. CLICK HERE to explore this resource.

Some other ideas include:

• Host job/career fairs
• Create and sustain scholarship funds for youth who are considering the military
• Create and/or support after school programs
• Ask local businesses and organizations if they are willing to support youth resisting the military by providing internships, job training, jobs, scholarships, mentorships, etc.
• Host college information sessions (bring college pamphlets, FAFSA forms, students, college reps, class schedules, applications, etc.)
• Host informational sessions on AmeriCorps, Peace Corps, City Year, etc.
• Lobby/petition your local government to increase financial aid, institute more job training programs, support job opportunities for young people, get a trade school
• Alternatives: Materials and Links
• Finding Alternatives (in development)
• Creating Alternative Materials (in development)
• Career Fairs (in development)
• For Guidance Counselors (in development)
• For Parents
• Building Allies (i.e. How To Engage Community Groups Fighting For More Alternatives) (in development)
• Materials/Training
• Find A Group

This page can be accessed and referred at the following URL: http://alternativestothemilitary.nnomy.org

http://www.accreditedonlinecolleges.net/