Their Journey, Our Steps

Walk in Solidarity with Immigrant Children

Throughout all of September, we invite you to collectively walk, run or roll 20,000 miles together as a powerful act of solidarity. Each mile we log reflects the journeys immigrant children have made across borders in search of safety.

Challenge Overview

This year’s Waymakers Challenge honors the Young Center’s 20th anniversary. Our goal? To log 20,000 miles: 1 mile for every year we’ve been fighting for immigrant children’s rights and to raise $1 for every mile logged.

Log Miles. Raise Funds. #BeAWaymaker.

So, how does this work?

Step 1 – Sign Up: Register, complete your profile and set your personal mileage goal. Each mile equals $1 for our mission and gets us closer to our 20,000-mile goal in honor of 20 years of advocacy for unaccompanied immigrant children.

Step 2 – Warm Up: Leading up to September, rally your community: form a team, create a fundraiser, and spread the word using our easy-to-use Waymakers toolkits!

Step 3 – Lace Up: When the clock strikes September 1st, start logging your miles and watch your impact grow! Every step you take will raise critical funds to move immigrant children closer to safety and freedom.

Toolkits and Wallpapers for the Journey

#BeAWaymaker. Boost your impact!

Whether you're just starting out or leading a team of Waymakers, our toolkits and custom wallpapers will help you rally your team, engage your community, build successful fundraisers and walk with purpose—because no immigrant child should walk alone.

The Young Center for Immigrant Children's Rights is a human rights organization that champions the best interests of unaccompanied immigrant children, making sure that wherever they land, whether here in the U.S. or their home country, they are safe.

The children we serve are fleeing violence, trafficking, abuse, extreme poverty, discrimination, and the effects of climate change. We advocate for the well-being of each child while they’re detained, in court proceedings, and post-release. We stand for the creation of an immigration system that sees children as children.  

Story of the Waymaker

Years ago, the Young Center had the honor of serving a girl from West Africa as her Child Advocate, ensuring she had an ally that spoke up for her best interests and ensured she was treated with care and dignity. When she was released from custody, settled in, and enrolled in high school, she sent a letter to her Child Advocate, thanking her for being her Waymaker. We love that word. Today, as unaccompanied children are at risk of being deported to danger and families continue to be separated, we need Waymakers more than ever. 

8,000+ immigrant & refugee children served so far

In 2024, we served 1,975 children from more than 52 different countries. 402 of the children we worked with were under 12 years old and 589 were at risk of being transferred to adult detention.

Celebrating Elizabeth Frankel's Legacy

A tireless advocate, Waymaker, and friend, Liz served as a guiding light to each child and parent as they made their way through an adversarial immigration and justice system. Her work was guided by her zealous belief that children and families had the right to remain together, to be heard, and to be free from detention.

Join us in celebrating the power we each have to be a Waymaker and walk in solidarity with a child.