Meet the Young Leaders Program | Youth Department Manager

We had the good fortune of connecting with the Young Leaders Program and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi the Young Leaders Program, can you talk to us a bit about the social impact of your business?
The Young Leaders Program caters to the East Cleveland and Collinwood community by providing a safe space for 6-12th grade youth to come together to complete homework, weekly community service and learn personal development skills through weekly hands-on activities. During the program we discuss different topics such as drugs, alcohol, peer pressure, greed, etc. to aid students in working on life and leadership skills through critical thinking, self-reflection, and problem resolution. The program also caters to the community by providing essential resources such as employment opportunities at job fairs, hosting community give aways for the local families such as clothes, coats, toys, and so on. The program partners with the various stadiums and arenas in Cleveland for fundraising, during the sports seasons our volunteers are staffed to work the concessions stands. The kids in the program collaborate with the volunteers from the Community Department to host events giving back to the community such as Community Christmas parties and Community Locker Room all located at the Collinwood Recreational Center.
These are some of the ways that the Young Leaders Program contributes to the community.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Our organization addresses the social issues within the East Cleveland and Collinwood communities through taking a positive approach towards youth and community needs. We provide skills such as personal development, critical thinking, problem solving, community engagement, leadership and life skills. Our mission is to inspire a positive culture within the community through service and a contemporary approach. For anyone that is a part of our organization whether it’s a student, volunteer, or staff member they are exposed to a safe space where they can grow and develop into leadership roles. The Young Leaders Program provides opportunities for the youth and community to become the best versions of themselves. It was not easy getting this point, with anything you are new to there will be trial and error. Operating for 10 years now, there have many lessons that have aided in the betterment of the program progression to continuing its mission of serving the youth and community. The biggest lesson the Young Leaders Program has learned is to trust the process, while some things might not fall into place at the beginning being teachable and leaving room to improve will and has helped us to get this far.
We would like the world to know that letting your passion lead you to a greater purpose will drive you, but the work and dedication will bring you all the results.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
We’ll we would give them a tour of the Collinwood Recreational Center and our classroom, then let them rest for the day because they just arrived. Then each day we would visit a few local black owned restaurants like Zanzibar, Open Pit, and Och Rio Island Cuisine. We would visit all of the local centers for entertainment such as the art and history museum, and one of Cleveland’s sports arenas. Lastly, we would love for them to be a part of our mission by participating in community service.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
The Young Leaders Program president Lavont White founded the organization. He has a background in childcare and social work, this background came from working in various daycares as a teacher, camp counselor at Camp Forbes and participating in City Year as a team manager. Lavont having his work history in childcare and also growing up in the Collinwood neighborhood personally seen the issues in the community, he knew he wanted to make an impact with the youth. He credits these places and spaces that showed him the impact he could make at a young age and all the reasons he is so passionate about youth and community.

Website: https://www.youngleadersprograms.org/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/young_leadersprogram/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Young-Leaders/100005620218499/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCf-ERlk2o4uGpi4q1fLHIcw