American Association for Youth Flourishing
Where young Americans go to flourish.
Join the membership association built for you. Campus events, a national summit, a mentor from another generation, and discounts from brand partners.
Example card
Our thesis
We cannot have a prosperous country without healthy young people.
A nation's strength is the health of the generation coming up. That is why the American Association for Youth Flourishing exists.
What we're up against
A generation in crisis. We're here to combat all of it.
Depression. Suicide. Obesity. Chronic illness. Screen time. AI in place of real relationships. Brain rot. Antidepressants. Childhood cut short. The numbers behind it:
of high school students felt persistently sad or hopeless.
of high school students seriously considered attempting suicide. 9.5% attempted it.
of children and teens ages 2 to 19 have obesity, the highest ever recorded.
of teens say they are online almost constantly.
teens use AI companions for social interaction and relationships.
acceleration in the growth of antidepressant dispensing to girls 12 to 17 after March 2020.
Chronic illness
Prevention, fitness and nutrition before disease takes hold.
Brain rot
Endless scrolling that crowds out focus, learning and real life.
Expedited adolescence
Childhood cut short by adult pressures and content, too early.
Sources: CDC Youth Risk Behavior Survey 2023 (depression, suicide); CDC National Center for Health Statistics, NHANES 2021 to 2023, published February 2026 (obesity); Pew Research Center, Teens, Social Media and Technology 2024 (screen time); Common Sense Media, Talk, Trust, and Trade-Offs, 2025 (AI companions); Pediatrics, Antidepressant Dispensing to U.S. Adolescents and Young Adults 2016 to 2022, 2024 (antidepressants: 129.6% acceleration for girls 12 to 17).
Your membership
Everything you get when you join.
Campus events
Show up to events built for college students, on your campus and across the country.
The Summit
Get into our big annual Youth Flourishing Summit, with members first in line.
A mentor
Get paired with a mentor from another generation. Open to high school and college students.
Brand perks
Get access to partner brands and member discounts in health, fitness, nutrition and apparel.
The Youth Flourishing Summit
One weekend a year, the whole movement in one room.
Our annual flagship gathering brings together young Americans, physicians, researchers, coaches, veterans and American companies. Members get in first.
Between summits, campus events bring college students together all year, run through the different brands under our reach: communities, festivals, creators and content.
The Mentorship Network
Learn from someone a generation ahead.
High school and college
Open to young people at both stages, so the relationship can start early and keep growing.
Across generations
Paired with professionals at different stages of life, from recent graduates to leaders with decades in their field.
One hour a month, six months
A scheduled conversation, nationwide and remote, long enough to build a real relationship and a plan.
Advocacy
We fight for young Americans.
Our advocacy arm carries the membership's voice to lawmakers and institutions. We organize around the three things that decide whether a young person flourishes.
Mind
Mental health, truth and the tools young people use every day.
Body
Fitness, nutrition and the physical health of the next generation.
Soul
Purpose, community and real relationships.
Join
Become a founding member.
Membership opens in 2026. Write to us to be first in line.
About and partners
American Association for Youth Flourishing
A national standard for the health of young Americans, funded and convened by American companies.
Our thesis
We cannot have a prosperous country without healthy young people.
The association is one institution where physicians, researchers, coaches, veterans and American companies set one clear standard for what it means to be a healthy, flourishing young American, and where young people can actually go to reach it.
The crisis
A generation in crisis: mind, body and soul.
Mind
Depression. Anxiety. Suicide. Brain rot. No clear sense of what is true.
Body
Obesity. Chronic illness. Screen time. Pornography. Declining fertility.
Soul
Isolation. No purpose. Confusion. Intimate relationships with AI.
By the numbers
Young Americans are not well.
Sources: the ~40% figure is from the CDC Youth Risk Behavior Survey 2023. Citations for the other three figures are to be added before launch.
Corporate partners
Companies that meet the standard.
Companies across health, fitness, nutrition, apparel and American manufacturing pay annual dues to convene, to meet the standard, to offer member discounts, and to fund the work.
Criteria are set by an independent practitioner board, not by the companies that pay.
501(c)(3)
Programs, research, events, and the standard itself.
501(c)(4)
Advocacy. Carries the membership voice into policy.
501(c)(6)
The association. Membership, corporate partners and the annual summit.
The ask
$1.7M
Through 2027, to a self-supporting model. The first $500,000 funds the core team, three national activations, and the first ten community groups.
Contact
Partner or fund the work.
Companies, foundations, physicians and researchers can write to us about partnership and the annual summit.