The Inclusion Explorers project was a youth-led initiative designed to promote kindness, inclusion, and community engagement through literacy and interactive learning. Partnering with a local library, the youth leaders organized an inclusive story time event for young children and families that combined reading with hands-on activities focused on acceptance and belonging. To extend the project's impact beyond a single event, the leaders also developed a resource toolkit that schools, libraries, and community organizations can use to implement similar inclusive programming in the future. Through both the event and the toolkit, the project aimed to create welcoming spaces where children could learn about and celebrate inclusion.
The project was inspired by the mentorship of the youth leaders along with Special Olympics of Rhode Island.Through the program, the youth leaders received guidance and support from their mentor, while developing their own unique project.
The Inclusion Explorers project created an inclusive reading experience for young children and families in the youth leaders’ local community. The leaders partnered with their local library to host a story time event that combined reading with interactive activities designed to promote kindness, inclusion, and community engagement. In addition to organizing the event, they developed a resource toolkit that schools and community organizations can use to continue offering inclusive story time programs in the future.

One of the leaders’ favorite memories was the "Kindness Rocks" activity. During the event, participants painted rocks with encouraging and inclusive messages. After the story time, the rocks were placed throughout the community, creating a lasting reminder of kindness and inclusion for others to discover.
The project's impact extends beyond a single event. By creating resources that can be shared with schools and community organizations, the youth leaders helpedestablisha model for inclusive programming that can be replicated in their town and neighboring communities. They also plan to continue promoting inclusion through their schools' Unified Clubs and by sharing lessons learned from the project with others.
Reflecting on their experience, the youth leaders identified scheduling as their greatest challenge, as they needed to coordinate availability between themselves and the local library. To make productive use of their time while finalizing the event date, they focused on developing the resource toolkit first. This approach allowed them to continue making progress on the project while ensuring the event was successfully planned and implemented.