As a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Junior Sikh Coalition has been temporarily suspended for 2022. Please check back for further updates, and read more about the program’s history below.

The Problem

Sikh youth regularly encounter hostility and ignorance at school. Apart from bullying, young people in the Sikh community face pressure to assimilate and abandon their Sikh identity. This is on top of the overwhelming pressure to get good grades, get into college, and build a successful career. Too often, Sikh youth do not find a sense of community at school, and the absence of a support structure can prevent them from achieving their full potential. Motivated Sikh youth lack a safe space to discuss and work to address problems they see in their community and in the world.

The Solution

The Junior Sikh Coalition is a student-led initiative designed to inspire Sikh youth, strengthen the communities to which they belong, and help them achieve their leadership potential. Members receive intensive year-long leadership training and mentorship from Sikh Coalition staff and share this knowledge with other youth to promote social justice and community.

  • years of programming
  • trained leaders
  • More than Sikh youth trained in anti-bullying presentations

"The Junior Sikh Coalition prepares Sikh youth to go out into the world and make a change. Through the weekly meetings and the workshops we have led over the last two years, I have acquired skills that have enhanced my work ethic, made me more efficient, taught me leadership, but most importantly instilled in me how to be a good human being."

– Prabjoot Kaur Lally, former Junior Sikh Coalition member

Impact

With seven consecutive years of programming, the Junior Sikh Coalition continues to remain a fierce program for youth. Since August 2012, 88 high school and college students from the New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut area have participated in this youth leadership program. Some accomplishments include the publication of a youth-compiled “Nirbhau Nirvair: Poetry and Art Book” (No Fear, No Enemies), presenting anti-bullying workshops to hundreds of Sikh youth annually, hosting women’s empowerment events for the sangat, developing a web-show that raises the Sikh profile, creating safe spaces for youth to discuss the stigma of mental health in our community, developing a partnership with the White House and New York City Department of Education on anti-bullying efforts, hosting and speaking on panels against discrimination with partner organizations, continuing engagement with other youth minorities, like the Native American Shinnecock Youth, serving free meals (langar) to New York City shelters, organizing open mic nights, volunteering at events such as the New York City Marathon, and working on their own original projects to make a difference in areas of social justice they are passionate about.

How You Can Help

Donate to help support Junior Sikh Coalition weekly programs. The youth are our future, and that is worth every ounce of support.

Set up a Sikh Awareness presentation or anti-bullying workshop at your school by contacting community@sikhcoalition.org.

“The Junior Sikh Coalition has sparked a passion within me to fight for a world where everyone has equal rights, and a world where people of all cultures and faiths can come together as a community and appreciate all of their differences. JSC has brought together so many of my peers, who have a similar vision for the world into a common space where we are not only able to better ourselves as members of our communities, but also as human beings.”

– Sukhmeet Singh, former Junior Sikh Coalition member