Too often when we think about youth organizing we focus on the internet and college campuses. Young people in rural areas often have less access to high-speed internet and are not attending large universities. Rural youth are important for us to organize, yet many organizations feel like they don’t know where to find them.

After asking some of my social networks the question “Where do young people tend to congregate in rural communities?,” I received a lot of good responses from people from those communities. Here is the list of the most popular results.

• Local churches
• Large stores/Wal-mart
• 4-H clubs
• Local/County fairs
• Social events/fiestas
• High schools and school events
• Community college/trade schools
• Rodeos
• Dairy Queens/Local eateries
• Bookstores
• Athletic clubs
• Bars and taverns
• Tribal houses/community centers

The key here is that there are places where young people congregate in rural communities and that if you put the work in you will be able to reach them.

Another point that Sisto Abeyta of New Mexico made to me was that most of the communication that takes place in rural communities is done over the phone, which now also includes text messaging.

So now I open the question up to you. Where do you think are good places to find rural youth congregating? Also, what methods do you think would be effective in reaching out to rural youth? The floor is yours. Leave a comment.

Photo by ToniVC