Our mission is to invest in Maine's young leaders to create lasting power for their rural communities and the natural environment.
JMJU is rooted deeply in rural Maine.
All of our staff have roots here, and our Rural Youth Organizers work directly in their own local communities. Our approach to change is grounded in what makes rural Maine itself: a place where neighbors take care of each other, where our economies and livelihoods are tied to the land, and where people have deep hope for the future of their communities.
Young people here are tied to the land and to each other through school, fishing, hunting, seasonal work, and a culture of interdependence that shapes how they see the world. That connection is strong, and so is the alienation that many rural people feel from civic and political life across the political spectrum. JMJU works in that gap, building genuine relationships in rural spaces and pushing for statewide legislative and civic action to invest in our communities and the infrastructure they need to thrive.
JMJU ensures rural youth are heard on the issues that impact their communities.
Our Rural Youth Organizers lead and design all core programming, creating spaces where young people’s lived experience is valued as their expertise. Our youth organizers lead local initiatives to amplify what their communities need most. We recognise that listening alone isn’t enough and that action, recognition, and support are essential in feeling heard.
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JMJU’s statewide advocacy ensures that rural youth have a voice in shaping policies that affect their lives. Through legislative engagement, storytelling campaigns, and state-focused initiatives, our youth organizers shape decisions at both municipal and state levels, ensuring youth voices are not just heard but are driving conversations on the issues that matter most.
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We hear that time, money, and support matter. That’s why we pay youth participants for their time, cover travel expenses, and provide paid leadership opportunities to strengthen youth leaders.
For many rural communities, there is a desire to be more connected with our neighbors - across distances, cultures, and political divides.
JMJU is a network of young people across Maine's rural communities who are coming together, across those differences and distances, to build lasting power. While geographically dispersed, we meet regularly as a team to support one another and share strategies to bring into the on-the-ground work in our home counties. There, we build long-term relationships that support community-led action on issues like access to healthy and affordable food, mental health, safe and reliable transportation, and Wabanaki self-determination.
Our youth-led opportunities foster a sense of meaning, belonging, empowerment, and trust, key ingredients for creating change. Trust is the foundation of this work, forming durable relationships that carry us through difficult but necessary conversations and help us build stronger communities in the process. JMJU offers spaces for young people from Machias to Mexico, Limestone to Leeds, to listen to and support one another’s work in their communities. We believe in our power to create change together.
Where We Work
JMJU is led by young people ages 15-30 across rural Maine in Washington, Hancock, Penobscot, Franklin, Kennebec, Oxford, Aroostook, Piscataquis, and Somerset counties (highlighted in dark purple).
JMJU is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization (EIN: 93-2999628).