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Recreational activities are uniquely suited for the implementation of a positive youth development (PYD) approach, as they create space for youths’ physical, psychological, and social development. This may be especially true for vulnerable youth who face additional risk factors such as single parent homes and living in low-income communities. Momentum Bicycle Clubs (MBC), based in Greenville, South Carolina, use noncompetitive recreational bicycling as a mechanism to facilitate group mentoring opportunities for high-risk youth. MBC engage youth with their community while providing opportunities for leadership, building positive relationships, exercise, and learning new skills. This exploratory project’s purpose is to better understand the bicycle as a PYD mechanism through group mentoring by studying MBC program design, processes, and outcomes. Researchers identified three primary themes that indicated the bicycle provided youth opportunities to gain responsibility, confidence, and improved health. Sub themes provided additional context. For example, youth gained responsibility for their bikes and related equipment, as well as their individual and the group’s safety. MBC is an example of using individual specialized recreation equipment as an effective PYD mechanism that allows the program to meet more PYD desired outcomes than traditional programs. The bicycle rides differentiate the program dynamic from other PYD programs as the mentors are also group participants. This allows the mentors to share in the experience and role model behavior, which may foster stronger group identity and cohesiveness. Year-round asset intensive programs of this nature have management challenges, including sufficient resources (e.g., bicycle storage and maintenance), mentors willing to ride bicycles, as well as ensuring youth safety while riding. The resource challenges are met through extensive partnerships with government, nonprofit, and commercial agencies, which has also benefitted the program through a wider variety of mentors, adult role models, internship opportunities for the youth, and community knowledge about MBC. Safe bicycling is accomplished through extensive training, locating the clubs in areas with access to low traffic streets, and a 20-mile paved multiuse path. Lastly, since it is difficult to have meaningful conversations while riding, mentors must build in time before and after rides and at planned stops to facilitate the most meaningful mentor-mentee relationships.

College and university-based (CUB) summer camps are a prominent pre-collegiate experience targeting middle and high school adolescents, which research suggests may enhance college aspirations and preparedness, develop academic knowledge and skills, and influence future career choices. This study examines factors that predict the relation between affinity for college, program engagement and support, college major selection, and social–emotional outcomes stemming from youth involvement in a CUB camp based on data collected from 641 middle and high school-aged youth who completed an online questionnaire on the last day of the CUB camp. The findings validated a 4-factor model comprised of college brand awareness, college relational expectations, college academic interest–science, and college academic interest–technology. Further, the structural equation model (SEM) results suggested a relation between affinity for college, program engagement and support, and social–emotional outcomes. In addition, a CUB camp student’s lack of a college major had a significant negative direct effect on some dimensions of affinity for college including college brand awareness, college relational expectations, and college academic interest–science. CUB camp providers can use the results of this study to better articulate how their programs might impact adolescent decision making related to college, as well as inform how CUB camp providers may intentionally create affinity spaces that maximize student awareness of college brands as well as their future expectations for the college experience.

This study evaluates Momentum Bicycle Clubs (MBC) through the empowerment-based positive youth development framework (EMPYD). Data were collected through eight cross-sectional focus groups of MBC youth participants (ages 10-17). Sessions included three topics: the MBC program, the mentors, and the bicycle, all of which elucidated elements of an EMPYD program for analysis. The data were analyzed utilizing an interpretative phenomenological approach. The results of the focus groups revealed how MBC empowers its youth participants. MBC displayed characteristics of the EMPYD model by providing youth with opportunities to develop mastery and moral identity in addition to the 5Cs of positive youth development. Interactions with a diverse set of mentors and peers allowed program participants to gain mastery of physical, social, and emotional skills. These connections also provided avenues for the development of empathy, caring, and character. MBC empowered its participants by fostering a sense of community that was dependable and consistent. However, the data did not reveal how or if MBC empowers youth to participate in active and engaged citizenship. MBC represents a programmatic model that utilizes many aspects of the EMPYD framework. MBC provide youth with the opportunity to develop mastery over the bicycle and to develop their moral reasoning through relationships with a group of adult mentors. With some adjustment, the program can further empower youth by providing intentional programming that focuses on culturally specific community building and by providing program participants with the opportunity to engage in culturally specific citizenship.