Youth Development & Enrichment

Through the Y.E.S.! Academy (Youth Empowerment School), our youth programs seek to empower and educate young people in the areas of: (1) personal growth and development (2) leadership skills (3) creativity (4) entrepreneurial skills/financial literacy (5) civic education (6) youth and the criminal justice system (this includes youth who may be currently involved or "on the bubble" of being involved in the criminal justice system) (7) charity, community building, and volunteerism. Using an innovative approach, we offer success lectures for grade school, high school, technical college, college, and post graduate students.

Y.E.S.! is a training system designed to empower and educate young people in the following areas:

1. Personal Growth and Development
2. Leadership Skills
3. Creativity
4. Entrepreneurial skills/Financial Literacy
5. Civic Education
6. Youth and the Criminal Justice System
7. Charity, Community building, and Volunteerism

Goals of the Y.E.S.! Academy

• Will instill positive social and economic values in our youth that will make our communities a better place to live, both today, and in the future.
• Allows youth from various economic and social backgrounds to get to know one another thereby building community across divides.
• Provides a forum for youth to express ideas, to get creative, and to be heard
• When youth participate in the curriculum, leadership skills and self-confidence are enhanced; the youth will also walk away with a set of goals.
• Through civic learning, the youth become informed about the political and electoral process, which will increase the likelihood of them becoming an educated voter.
• By being educated about the criminal justice system, it will help to insure that the youth do not become a product of that system.