Youth Development Services

Real-life Results:

“Y.O.U prepared me to give to other people and to mentor. For five to six years, I’ve had support from them all the time. It motivated me to keep doing well in school.”

Jamaal has been involved with the Big Brother/Big Sister program and volunteers at a YMCA program for teens. He offers to support kids both academically and also as a life coach and mentor. He sends out widespread email to local high schools and gets the names of any troubled students that he can mentor. Now Jamaal is preparing to start his own mentoring program.

What he took away from his time in Y.O.U. is that ”It’s about growing up to be a responsible adult and returning the favor.”

- Jamaal Applewhite, Y.O.U. graduate

Dr. Eric Witherspoon, Superintendent of School District 202 says, ”One young man, when I first got to know him, was fairly bashful and reserved. He got involved with Y.O.U and we watched him flourish. He developed more friends and good relationships. That led to more leadership roles. At the Martin Luther King Day celebration, he was up on stage performing. This young man took such pride in being part of the program, and I can tell you two years ago he would have avoided the interaction. His confidence grew because he was cared about—and he’s headed off to college now. I can tell you that he was not a student you would automatically think would have gone to college initially."

When asked to describe his experiences with Y.O.U., one participant who recently graduated from ETHS said, the programs were “fun, educational, helpful, and life-changing. Before I came here I felt like I wasn’t very social. I would go to school, come home, and do my homework, then play on the computer.” Through Y.O.U. he developed much stronger social skills.

He is really proud that he graduated from high school. It was a long road, but he stuck through it and made it happen. With the support of his parents and Brian Williams (Y.O.U. Program Director at ETHS), he had what he needed to make it.

He will attend Northeastern University to study marketing and business management and then plans to go on to graduate school. His goal is to work in communications and marketing as a sports agent.

In the words of Leticia Lemus, Site Coordinator at Washington Elementary: “Some of our youth lack social skills, and through the program I have seen many of them become social butterflies and become more confident. I also see some youth form great relationships with our staff and this leads them to have a positive outlook on life. Our youth feel supported as we often attend their extra-curricular events and take time to get to know each and every one.”

Gina Sineni, Site Coordinator at Nichols Middle School explains: “Students have a quiet and monitored time to finish homework and ask questions about concepts where they need more tutoring. They are held to very high personal and academic expectations, which helps to improve their sense of importance, self-esteem, and teamwork skills. Students are exposed to opportunities which, without Y.O.U., they may not have experienced—such as: camping trips, comic book art lessons, samba dance and percussion lessons, poetry workshops, and hip-hop dance classes. She plans activities that students need to continue for a few months to help them develop a sense of commitment.