Meet Celeste Salanon

We were lucky to catch up with Celeste Salanon recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Celeste, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?

We get our resilience from the mission and the people behind Youth Impact Texas. We began as a small group of high school students running a school club, and over time, we’ve grown into a full-fledged nonprofit with members from various schools and a variety of service opportunities. Seeing that progression — and seeing the real impact our work has on our community- constantly motivates us.

There’s also a lot of outside work that goes into running a youth-led organization, so time management and teamwork have become essential. Knowing that our efforts directly help vulnerable populations keeps us focused, even when things get busy. Our mission gives us purpose, and our impact provides us with the resilience to keep going.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

Youth Impact Texas is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization started and run entirely by high school juniors in Dallas. Our mission is to empower high schoolers to engage with and support their surrounding community. We focus on making service accessible and meaningful by facilitating volunteer opportunities, hosting fundraisers, and partnering with local nonprofits that are doing important work across the city.

What makes Youth Impact Texas special is the fact that we’ve built and sustained this organization while balancing school, extracurriculars, and everything else that comes with being teenagers. We started as a small school club, and watching it grow into a full nonprofit with members from multiple schools has been incredibly rewarding. That growth, and the impact we’ve been able to make as young leaders, is what motivates us every day.

We’re always looking for new volunteers to join and expand the Youth Impact Texas community. If you know any high school students who want to make a difference, they can visit our website and fill out the volunteer interest form.

We also have an exciting fundraiser coming up in December—check out our Instagram @youthimpacttexas for all the details. We’d love for you to stop by and support!

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

The three qualities that have been most impactful in my journey with Youth Impact Texas are strong teamwork, passion, and perseverance.

Teamwork has been essential because our organization is fully student-led. We rely on each other to balance responsibilities, support one another, and keep everything moving, even during busy school weeks. For anyone starting, my advice is to surround yourself with people who share your values and communicate openly—collaboration becomes so much easier when everyone feels heard and invested.

Passion is what gives the work meaning. When you genuinely care about your mission, it doesn’t feel like another task on your to-do list. If you’re early in your journey, take the time to really understand why you’re doing what you’re doing. That sense of purpose will fuel you through the inevitable ups and downs.

Perseverance has also been huge. Building something from the ground up takes patience, and progress doesn’t always happen overnight. There were moments when things moved slowly, but we kept going, and the outcome has been incredibly rewarding, especially when we see the real impact we’re making. My advice is to trust the process. Be patient, don’t give up, and remember that even small steps forward add up over time.

If you stay committed, work well with others, and stay connected to your passion, the progress you make will be worth it.

Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?

Yes, we’re always looking to collaborate with people and organizations who share our commitment to community impact. We especially love partnering with local nonprofits that directly support our Dallas community. For example, we’ve worked with Refresh NTX since the very beginning, and it’s been incredibly meaningful to help expand the reach of their work. Collaborations like these allow us to amplify our impact while giving our volunteers hands-on ways to support important causes.

We are also always looking for high school students to join Youth Impact Texas. Becoming a volunteer with us is a great way to access consistent, high-quality service opportunities while being part of a supportive and driven youth community.

If you’re a local nonprofit interested in partnering, or a student who wants to get involved, we’d love to connect. You can reach out through our website or visit our Instagram for more information. We’re excited to grow our network and continue making a difference together.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.youthimpacttexas.org/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/youthimpacttexas/#
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/Youth-Impact-Texas-61553254687424/
• Other: TikTok: @youthimpacttexas