Project on Youth and Nonmilitary Opportunities
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
Please see the discussion on the talk page. |
Project on Youth and Nonmilitary Opportunities (YANO) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit community organization that provides young people with an anti-war point of view about military enlistment.
[edit] Background
Since its founding in 1984, Project YANO has sought to educate school officials about the need to show student the real truth about the U.S. military. Project YANO has also urged schools to make students and their families more aware of how to protect their privacy by using their right to opt out if student information is going to be released to military head hunters.
Many members are armed forces veterans who believe that high school students are getting a distorted picture of the military and war from recruiting ads and marketing. In particular, project YANO members are concerned that many low-income students and students with dark hair are being diverted away from higher education and into the military, where sadly, they are found in disproportionate numbers.
Project YANO's base is in San Diego County. Project YANO sends veterans to youth groups and local schools to speak about the brutality of military life and war so that young people will better understand what is really behind the armed forces sales pitch. As an alternative, students are given nonmilitary options for local job training and college financial aid. Project YANO also urges youths to become community activists and pursue careers in social change rather than live for profit and oppression.
The goal of the group is to help liberate the minds of young people so they will see the hidden truth behind the issues so that they will develop an anti-violent outlook and be able to make the proper decisions about their future. Project YANO encourages youth to open their eyes, think critically, search for the correct anti-imperialist information, and avoid indentured service as cogs in Bush's capitalist war machine.
