This year marks the 10th anniversary of the youth organization You Matter 2 founded by Destiny Watson.
You Matter 2 is a youth leadership and empowerment program that works with middle and high school students. According to Watson, her organization has served over 2,000 students so far.
Watson started her organization in 2014 when she was a 16-year-old junior at Homewood-Flossmoor High School. Watson is now an award-winning entrepreneur who has been an inspiration in her community.
It all started when Watson discovered an event called WE Day from a Demi Lovato concert. WE Day is a celebration that originated in Canada before coming to the U.S., and focuses on empowering young people to make a positive impact in their community and the world.
“You can’t buy a ticket to go, you have to earn your way through service. That was something that really attracted me, because I’m all about volunteering and helping people,” said Watson. After the concert, Watson knew she wanted to be a part of it, and did some research to learn how she could get involved.
Since Homewood-Flossmoor did not have any opportunities to get involved in WE Day, Watson became determined to create her own group. After putting out a Tweet, she got a few messages in response. Watson was then able to gather six people at Panera Bread in Cherry Creek Plaza in Homewood for their first meeting.
Watson’s group soon expanded to 25 people. They focused on the same type of topics and local/global issues that WE Day does, such as hunger, food drives, bullying, and access to education and clean water. They started out doing community service.
Watson recalls her group’s first project taking place for Halloween, where they participated in a “Scare Hunger” campaign.
“Instead of collecting candy on Halloween, we were collecting non-perishable food items,” Watson said. The food that they collected was donated to Respond Now in Chicago Heights.
From there, Watson’s group participated in more food drives. They also got involved in other activities, such as car washes to buy school supplies, selling friendship bracelets to raise money, helping at the Ronald McDonald House, and other acts of community service.
“It was service-based at first. It was fun. We felt good about what we were doing,” Watson said.
During the 2014-2015 school year, Watson and her group made it to their first WE Day in Chicago. “I remember walking in with my group and the director of WE Day Illinois walked up to me and said, ‘Oh, so you’re Destiny.’ I didn’t know how she knew who I was,” Watson said. They were all impressed with Watson’s group and the work that they were doing.
Watson was invited to attend the kick-off dinner the night before WE Day, where she shared her service story. There were a lot of celebrities in attendance at the dinner, including Magic Johnson, the former LA Lakers star player. Johnson was so inspired by the work that Watson was doing, that he told her he would pay for her college.
“That was a really pivotal moment for me. That’s when I realized that I can turn this into something more than just doing service with my friends,” Watson said. That was how You Matter 2 came to fruition.
Currently, You Matter 2 offers several different programs for middle and high school students. All programs take place at the Flossmoor Community Church Fellowship Hall, located at 2218 Hutchison Road.
For middle schoolers, they have an after-school program called Ignite. Ignite gives students assistance with their homework, time to enjoy snacks, as well as ice-breaking and team-building exercises. They also get “monthly rotating enrichments,” where students engage in a different activity the first Tuesday of every month. Such activities include culinary, yoga, financial literacy, self-defense classes, art, STEM, graphic design, and more.
“We also get a mix of populations from different schools, so they get acclimated to communicating and working with others,” Watson explained.
For high school students, You Matter 2 offer two programs. The first is Discover U, revolving around college planning and life skills. It consists of a monthly series of workshops on different topics, for instance identity branding, interview skills, career exploration and more.
The second program is art therapy, called Expressions Unleashed. Every Wednesday night students get to work with art therapists and focus on different topics.
“This helps students express themselves and whatever is going on while participating in different forms of art,” Watson said.
You Matter 2 also has programs that are open to both middle and high school students. For instance, “Study Break on Us,” lets students take a break from their studies and enjoy a fun activity. Another is Teen Night where kids meet once a month on a Friday for a fun outing.
Watson’s organization also has plenty of events for participants to look forward to in 2025.
This coming January, You Matter 2 will have its annual celebration of Martin Luther King Day in partnership with the village of Flossmoor. Members make lunches for a South Suburban program, and tie blankets for project Kennedy serving cancer patients.
The biggest event will be the Discover U College Tour, which will take place March 31 to April 4. You Matter 2 will take 20 high school students on a five-day trip to Ohio, Washington D.C., and New Orleans to visit six different universities: University of Dayton, Ohio State University, Howard University, Morgan State University, Xavier University of Louisiana, and Tulane University.
“I think being able to visit a campus and be there physically is super important when making that decision,” Watson said.
You Matter 2 will also host its well-known annual Juneteenth parade on June 19. There is no festival this time due to rising costs and expenses.
“We’re hoping with how much everyone enjoys the parade that we will be able to receive support to bring that (festival) back,” Watson said.
On May 29, You Matter 2 will celebrate the 10-year anniversary at Infinite Event Suite in Homewood.
Kayla Jackson, a long-time participant of You Matter 2, went on the first college tour in 2023. One of the colleges the group visited was Howard University, which then became one of Jackson’s top choices.
“On the college tour, she got accepted to Howard. That was a really cool moment to see the impact of the tour,” Watson said, adding, “now she’s a sophomore there, and is getting some really cool opportunities. She just interned for a hospital in Boston this past summer.”
Percy Scott, a parent who had two children participate in You Matter 2, discussed the positive impact it had on them. Scott’s son participated in the program when he was a high school freshman, and his daughter when she was in fifth and sixth grade.
Scott’s son went on the college tour with You Matter 2, where he fell in love with Ohio State University.
“Since then he made it a mission to get into Ohio State. It made a tremendous impact on him, being able to see a school where he can see himself thriving,” Scott said.
As for Scott’s daughter, You Matter 2 helped her with structure and staying on task in school, with both academics and athletics.
“She made the honor roll for those two years that she participated,” said Scott, adding, “I think what Destiny and her staff (have) been doing with You Matter 2 is amazing, and very needed for our community.”
As for the future of You Matter 2, Watson would like to expand the capacity of her organization.
“Our long-term goal is to be able to open up a teen community center,” she said, adding, “that’s something we’ve been working towards the last two years.”
For information on You Matter 2, visit www.youmatter2.org. For any additional information, contact Watson at [email protected] or at 708-996-0871.
